Balance recovery and relationship with ambulation distance in recent hemiparetic adults

Background. The aims of this study were to document the recovery process of standing balance in stroke patients and to establish whether ambulation distance (dichotomised as 200 m or less) correlated with the level of standing balance. Methods. Ground reaction forces during standing with eyes open and closed were measured by means of two force-plates, for each leg separately, 39 and 98 days after the onset of stroke. Ambulation distance was evaluated during the second standing test. Results. During standing with eyes open and closed there was a nonsignificant decrease in the mean values of anteroposterior and mediolateral forces measured in both limbs in the second test. Changes in between-leg differences in both tests were also nonsignificant. In the whole sample, the total sway activity decreased significantly (p=0.022) in the second test only when standing with eyes open. At the end of rehabilitation, nonsignificant changes were observed between the values of total sway activity, both in those subjects who were able to walk over 200 m, and in those who were not. Conclusions. Although the hemiparetics who were able to walk distances of over 200 m swayed less while standing, in the second test the correlation between ambulation distance and standing balance did not reach statistical significance. Thus, standing balance appears to be a poor predictor of ambulation distance in hemaparetic patients.