Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Somatosensory Input On Gait In Individuals Post-Stroke, Victor Hung, Amanda Reilly, Rachel Wood, Nikita Yuskov

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background and Purpose: Stroke is a leading cause of disability that results in various neurological deficits, one of which is hemiplegia. This deficit alters the gait cycle, resulting in decreased propulsion force by plantar flexor muscles, decreased activation of dorsiflexor (DF) muscles, and increased coactivation of antagonistic ankle muscles. Stroke also leads to altered somatosensory input which results in decreased balance and gait speed, ultimately increasing fall risk. Therapies targeting increased somatosensory input have been shown to be beneficial in stroke as well as other neurological populations. However, no known studies have investigated the acute effects of local vibration to …