Changes of plantar pressure distributions following open and closed kinetic chain exercise in patients with stroke.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate whether progressive resistive training with closed-kinetic chain (CKC) and open-kinetic chain (OKC) exercises could change plantar pressure distribution during walking in patients with stroke.

Methods: Thirty-nine stroke patients were recruited and randomly divided into a CKC exercise group (n = 13), an OKC exercise group (n = 13), and a control group (n = 13). Both CKC and OKC exercise groups performed their own respective training programs 5 times per week for 6 weeks, whereas no training was done in the control group. Barefoot plantar pressure distribution was measured during walking in terms of contact area (CA), peak contact force (PCF), and contact impulse (CI) on each of three foot regions (i.e. forefoot (FF), midfoot (MF), and hindfoot (HF)).

Results: In the CKC exercise group, there were significant changes in only the CA and PCF of HF. In the OKC exercise and control groups, no significant differences were found for all variables of plantar pressure distributions.

Conclusion: We found that resistive training with closed kinetic chain exercises could be an effective treatment method for improving normal gait patterns in stroke patients. These findings may be attributed to the fact that CKC exercise induced use of the ankle and knee muscles and provided repetitive sensory input from the affected foot.