Gait outcomes after acute stroke rehabilitation with supported treadmill ambulation training: A randomized controlled pilot study

Objective: To investigate gait outcomes with supported treadmill ambulation training (STAT) associated with regular rehabilitation in acute stroke survivors. Design: Randomized controlled trial, pilot study. Setting: Rehabilitation medicine service at a Veterans Affairs medical center. Participants: Seven acute stroke survivors assigned to regular intervention group and 6 patients assigned to STAT intervention. Interventions: Regular intervention consisted of 3 hours daily of physical therapy, kinesiotherapy, and occupational therapy. STAT group received regular rehabilitation with STAT substituted for usual gait training. Participants were tested at baseline, treated for an average of 3 weeks, and retested on discharge. The analysis of covariance procedure was used to test for differences between the 2 approaches. Main Outcome Measures: Functional Ambulation Category Scale, gait speed, walking distance, gait energy expenditure, and gait energy cost. Results: The small sample size did not generate enough power to detect significant differences in any variable. However, medium to large effect sizes of 0.7 and 1.16 standard deviation units were observed for gait energy cost and walk distance, respectively. Conclusions: This pilot study indicated that STAT is a safe, feasible, and promising intervention for acute stroke survivors. A larger trial is warranted for statistical relevance.