Patricia A Larkin

Resistance to ankle dorsiflexion in hemiparetic stroke patients

The purpose of this study was to measure, compare, and correlate on both the paretic and nonparetic sides of 20 hemiparetic stroke patients, the resistance of the ankle to dorsiflexion with the knee extended and the knee flexed. While resistance to ankle dorsiflexion was measured, the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the ankle plantar flexor muscles was monitored. EMG activitywas virtually nonexistent, except in two of the patients tested. An analysis of variance demonstrated that the resistance to dorsiflexion was significantly greater on the paretic side and with the knee extended. Resistance with the knee extended on the paretic side was significantly correlated with time since onset. The resistances of the ankle of each side with the knee in each position were significantly correlated. The results suggest that the triceps surae muscle group of the paretic side is hypoextensible compared to that of the nonparetic side. The hypoextensibility may contribute to the difficulty that stroke patients have in dorsiflexing their ankles.