Effect of using an 8-figure shoulder brace on arm swing angle and gait parameters in chronic stroke patients: a pilot randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The 8-figure shoulder brace during treadmill training (8-FSBTT) intervention can stabilize the shoulder joint, improve the upright of the thoracic spine, induces a change in the angle of the arm during walking, and consequently improve walking ability in stroke patients. OBJECTIVES: Our objective is to compare the effects of a 4-week program of 8-FSBTT with those of only treadmill training (OT) on arm swing angle, and gait parameters (gait speed, cadence, and both side stride lengths) in chronic stroke patients. METHODS: Participants were randomized to either the 8-FSBTT (n = 11) or OT (n = 11) group. Patients in both groups underwent standard physiotherapy for 30 min per session. In addition, 8-FSBTT and OT interventions were performed 10 min, 5 times per week for 4 weeks. Arm swing angle, gait speed, cadence, and both side stride lengths were measured after 4 weeks of training. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of training, the 8-FSBTT group showed significant improvement in all outcome measures compared with baseline (p < 0.05). Furthermore, Arm swing angle, gait speed, cadence, and both side stride lengths showed greater improvement in the 8-FSBTT group compared to the OT group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that 8-FSBTT training, combined with standard physiotherapy, improved Arm swing angle, gait speed, cadence, and both side stride lengths in the chronic stroke patients.