Effect of rehabilitation on the somatosensory evoked potentials and gait performance of hemiparetic stroke patients.

Background: Gait performance of stroke patients is affected by impaired sensory ability. The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between somatosensory-evoked potential (SSEP) parameters and gait performance in hemiparetic stroke patients.

Methods: A convenience sample of 17 hemiparetic stroke patients (mean age 60.11 ± 8.83 years; 10 women; right hemiplegia: 10, left hemiplegia: 7) were recruited for the present study. The Electro Synergy system (Viasys Healthcare; San Diego, CA, USA) was used for SSEP evaluation. The 17 patients were assigned to two groups according to their SSEP results as follows: 8 patients to the normal response group and 9 patients to the abnormal group. All the participants underwent the same rehabilitation exercise programs during 4 weeks, followed by clinical evaluation. A mixed-design analysis of a variance model was used to test for differences in timed up-and-go (TUG) test and 10-meter walking test (10MWT) scores between the two independent groups while the participants were subjected to repeated measures (pretest and posttest).

Results: Analysis of variance revealed the main time effect (p< 0.05) and group by time interaction effect (p< 0.05). The post hoc test result confirmed that the normal sensory group showed greater improvement in TUG test and 10MWT scores than the abnormal sensory group (p< 0.05). The TUG test and 10MWT scores in the posttest were greater in the normal sensory group than in the abnormal sensory group.

Conclusions: The present study demonstrated the importance of the clinical contribution of the baseline sensory function of individuals with hemiparetic stroke to their gait performance and recovery after stroke rehabilitation. As anticipated, the individuals who had intact or spared sensory function showed greater improvements in gait speed and performance measures than those who had impaired sensory function.