Does improved single leg stance improve gait efficiency following ABI
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does improved ability to achieve single leg stance lead to a more efficient gait pattern in adults with acquired brain injury?
IRAS ID
257294
Contact name
Nicky Spence
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 26 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
This study will investigate if an improvement in single leg stance (SLS) i.e. the ability to stand on one leg following the neurodevelopemental treatment (NDT) approach can lead to improved walking in adults with a brain injury. In walking, SLS accounts for 60% of walking. The treatment approach of NDT has been chosen as this is the most common physiotherapy treatment option in the UK for people with brain injuries. NDT is a problem-solving approach to the assessment and treatment of individuals with brain injury and it provides an outline of the treatment required to achieve an effective SLS. This will form the basis of the treatment of this study. Participants will be those with a brain injury who are receiving inpatient rehabilitation at an intermediate neuro-rehabilitation unit in Manchester who meet the study criteria. There will a control group to provide more convincing evidence of the success or failure of the treatment. The aim of the treatment is to enable participants to stand better on their weaker leg and to walk faster. Each participant will be treated for 6 weeks as this is the average treatment time currently within the literature.
Summary of Results
Single leg stance intervention with usual physiotherapy treatment was compared to usual physiotherapy treatment alone in people with an acquired brain injury. The results demonstrated that single leg stance intervention in conjunction with usual physiotherapy treatment improved a person's ability to stand on one leg and also increased their gait speed greater than people who received only their usual physiotherapy treatment. This indicates that single leg stance intervention in conjunction with usual physiotherapy treatment could aid single leg stance and walking after a person has suffered a brain injury. Single leg stance intervention consisted of treatments which worked to increase the range of movement, muscle strength and stability in the foot, knee and hip of the affected side. This was worked on in various positions such as lying, sitting and standing.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NW/0621
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jan 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion