Abstract
Gait deviations are a common deficit seen in persons with stroke. The purpose of this case report was to compare and describe the use of Ace© wrap bandaging and a posterior leaf spring ankle foot orthosis (AFO) as an intervention for the treatment of foot drop in a patient with subacute stroke. The case patient suffered a stroke in the right pons resulting in left hemiparesis and 2+/5 strength in the left ankle dorsiflexors as measured by manual muscle testing (MMT). The patient was instructed to ambulate 10 meters at his usual pace with a two wheeled rolling walker. Three trials of gait training were performed; first without the use of any dorsiflexion assistance, second while wearing a posterior leaf spring AFO, and a third time while utilizing Ace© wrap bandaging. Measures of patient performance included the gait section of the Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA), gait velocity, cadence, and joint positioning at the trunk, the hip, and the knee assessed by the "Coaches Eye" Video Analysis software. The patient demonstrated a 2 point increase in the Tinetti gait score, improved joint positioning, a 29.4% increase in gait velocity, and a 16% increase in cadence while utilizing the elastic wrap bandaging in comparison to the results from the first gait trial, without any dorsiflexion assistance. With the posterior leaf spring, the patient demonstrated a 2 point decrease in the Tinetti gait score, poorer joint positioning, a .06% decrease in gait velocity, and no change in cadence when compared to the results from the first gait trial. This case patient performed best with the use of Ace© wrap bandaging during ambulation. Further study is needed to determine if this is consistent with the broader population of stroke survivors.