PerceptualandMotorSkilh, 1991, 73, 146.
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1991
STRENGTH DEFICITS ALSO PREDICT GAIT PERFORMANCE IN PATIENTS WITH STROKE ' RICHARD W. BOHANNON UniversiQ of Connecticut Summary.-Measurements of muscle strength have been clearly established as predictors of gait performance in patients with stroke. By examining the previously published data, strength deficits of the paretic side of 26 patients with stroke are also shown to correlate with gait performance (speed [ r = -.638]). Paretic muscle strength deficits, then, may also be considered valid predictors of gait performance. Muscle strength of a paretic lower extremity, defined as the force or torque measured during maximum voluntary efforts, has been shown in numerous stuhes to correlate significantly with walking performance in patients after stroke (1, 3, 5). Wanting to know whether some measurements of muscle strength are better than others for predicting gait performance, Bohannon (2) compared the correlations between gait speed and force and torque of knee extension, both normalized and not normalized against body weight. H e found no significant difference in the correlations for the paretic side. A clinically important measurement not investigated by Bohannon (2) was the strength deficit of the paretic side relative to the nonparetic side. Although it may not always be accurate to assume that the nonparetic side is unaffected, that side does provide a practical control against which to characterize impairment on the paretic side (4). If strength deficits could be shown (like strength measurements per se) to predict gait performance, some evidence for their validity would be provided. To assess the value of strength deficits for predicting gait performance, the force of knee extension and gait speeds from Bohannon's 1991 study were analyzed retrospectively. Specificallv. ,. strength deficits for oaretic knee extension were calculated for each of the 26 stroke subjects using the following formula: (nonparetic knee extension force - paretic knee extension force)/nonparetic knee extension force. The mean and standard deviation of the deficits were 54.9 and 23.6%, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the speeds were 37.4 and 33.5 cm/sec., respectively. The Pearson correlation between the deficits and speeds was -.638 (p
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1991
STRENGTH DEFICITS ALSO PREDICT GAIT PERFORMANCE IN PATIENTS WITH STROKE ' RICHARD W. BOHANNON UniversiQ of Connecticut Summary.-Measurements of muscle strength have been clearly established as predictors of gait performance in patients with stroke. By examining the previously published data, strength deficits of the paretic side of 26 patients with stroke are also shown to correlate with gait performance (speed [ r = -.638]). Paretic muscle strength deficits, then, may also be considered valid predictors of gait performance. Muscle strength of a paretic lower extremity, defined as the force or torque measured during maximum voluntary efforts, has been shown in numerous stuhes to correlate significantly with walking performance in patients after stroke (1, 3, 5). Wanting to know whether some measurements of muscle strength are better than others for predicting gait performance, Bohannon (2) compared the correlations between gait speed and force and torque of knee extension, both normalized and not normalized against body weight. H e found no significant difference in the correlations for the paretic side. A clinically important measurement not investigated by Bohannon (2) was the strength deficit of the paretic side relative to the nonparetic side. Although it may not always be accurate to assume that the nonparetic side is unaffected, that side does provide a practical control against which to characterize impairment on the paretic side (4). If strength deficits could be shown (like strength measurements per se) to predict gait performance, some evidence for their validity would be provided. To assess the value of strength deficits for predicting gait performance, the force of knee extension and gait speeds from Bohannon's 1991 study were analyzed retrospectively. Specificallv. ,. strength deficits for oaretic knee extension were calculated for each of the 26 stroke subjects using the following formula: (nonparetic knee extension force - paretic knee extension force)/nonparetic knee extension force. The mean and standard deviation of the deficits were 54.9 and 23.6%, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the speeds were 37.4 and 33.5 cm/sec., respectively. The Pearson correlation between the deficits and speeds was -.638 (p
