Northwestern University
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a treadmill gait training performed with a new robotic device will improve walking balance and everyday participation in walking activities for adults who have had a stroke. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does treadmill gait training performed with a new robotic device that challenges their walking balance improve a person's balance and steadiness while walking? 2. Does treadmill gait training performed with a new robotic device help people with stroke walk better and take more steps in their daily lives? We will compare the new robotic training (which uses a cable device to gently pull the participant side-to-side to challenge their balance) to standard high-intensity treadmill training (where no extra pulling forces are applied) to see if combination of high intensity treadmill training in a balance challenging environment works better for stroke recovery specifically for walking balance. Participants will: * Complete 20 sessions of high-intensity walking training on a treadmill * Undergo special walking and balance tests at the Human Agility laboratory 4 different times: before the training, halfway through the training (after 10 sessions), at the end of the training (after 20 sessions), and 3 months after training is completed. * Have their daily walking activity (steps per day) tracked to measure improvements at home and in the community.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. 18 to 80 years of age; 2. diagnosis of hemiparetic stroke; 3. more than 6 months post-stroke; 4. ability to ambulate over ground for 10 meters with no physical assistance, use of unilateral assistive devices, such as a single cane, and use of braces that do not cross the knee joint, such as an ankle-foot orthosis, are permitted; 5. passive range of motion of the legs within functional limits and not restricting the ability to engage in locomotor training and 6. medically stable with medical clearance from physician to participate. Exclusion Criteria: 1. cognitive impa…
Participants will participate in a 20-session, gait training intervention performed in a Movement Amplification Environment, conducted twice a week. A licensed physical therapist will lead gait training sessions using a large commercial treadmill - belt width 1.39 m (Tuff Tread, Willis, TX). To prevent falls, participants will wear a trunk harness attached to a passive overhead safety support. Before the training beings, participants' vitals and their rate of perceived exertion (RPE) will be assessed. Participants will wear a polar heart rate (HR) monitor to record training intensity and a StepWatch5 activity monitor to measure the number of steps. Every training session will begin and end with a 2.5-minute warmup and cool down respectively. The 40-minute body of the training session will be divided into four 10-minute segments: two of the 10-minute segments will consist of Speed and two of Balance. Target heart rate during these periods will be between 70 and 85% of HRmax.
Participants will participate in a 20-session gait training intervention conducted twice a week. A licensed physical therapist will lead gait training sessions using a large commercial treadmill - belt width 1.39 m (Tuff Tread, Willis, TX). To prevent falls, participants will wear a trunk harness attached to a passive overhead safety support. Before the training beings, participants' vitals and their rate of perceived exertion (RPE) will be assessed. Participants will wear a polar heart rate (HR) monitor to record training intensity and a StepWatch5 activity monitor to measure the number of steps. Every training session will begin and end with a 2.5-minute warmup and cool down respectively. The 40-minute body of the training session will be divided into four 10-minute segments: two of the 10-minute segments will consist of Speed and two of Balance. Target heart rate during these periods will be between 70 and 85% of HRmax.