Robotic gait training tailored to patient leg length improves stroke rehab outcomes: study

Seoul Metropolitan City Seonam Hospital (Seonam Hospital) has released research findings indicating that “maximal step length robot-assisted gait training,” tailored to the leg length of stroke patients, is effective in improving respiratory function, balance, and walking ability.

Robot-assisted gait training has been widely used in stroke rehabilitation since the development of Lokomat in 1994. Robotic equipment can mechanically correct asymmetric gait caused by sensory impairment, muscle weakness, and joint range of motion limitations resulting from stroke, and induce repetitive symmetrical gait learning.

Additionally, it can adjust gait pattern changes caused by leg length differences, allowing patients with difficulty walking independently to safely perform continuous aerobic exercise and improve respiratory function, making it applicable even in the early stages of stroke.

Previously, training programs tailored to the functional level of patients were primarily applied; however, there was a lack of research on customized strategies that account for limb length differences. The rehabilitation medicine team at Seonam Hospital designed a robot-assisted gait training program that measures the length of patients' thighs and calves to set individual maximum stride lengths, addressing this limitation.

The study involved 36 stroke patients with hemiplegia, with the experimental group receiving customized robot-assisted gait training for four weeks and the control group undergoing traditional treadmill gait training.

Analysis revealed that the experimental group showed significant improvements compared to the control group in terms of enhanced respiratory function, strengthened diaphragm, improved trunk stability, improved gait patterns, and increased endurance.

Seonam Hospital said that this study proves the clinical value of customized stride length settings for patients and is expected to contribute to the refinement and standardization of robotic rehabilitation therapy in the future.

The study results were published in the international academic journal, “Journal of Clinical Movement Science in Humans (JCMSH),” under the title, “Effects of Wearable Robot-assisted Gait Training with Maximum Step Length on Respiratory Function, Balance and Gait in Stroke Patients.”

“This study scientifically proved that customized robot-assisted gait training tailored to the physical characteristics of individual stroke patients is highly effective in restoring various functions, including respiration, balance, and gait,” said Lee Ju-young, head of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Seoham Hospital. Lee is the corresponding author of the study. “We will continue to expand the clinical application of patient-customized robot-assisted rehabilitation therapy to improve the quality of life and achieve successful rehabilitation for stroke patients.”

Seonam Hospital Director Pyo Chang-hae remarked, “Rehabilitation following initial treatment is just as important as the initial treatment itself. As a public general hospital representing Seoul’s southwestern region, Seonam Hospital will continue to strive to realize patient-centered public healthcare throughout the entire process, from emergency treatment to rehabilitation.”