Hemiparesis Patterns Help Explain Heterogeneous Gait Asymmetries in People Post-Stroke
Session Number
2
Advisor(s)
Russell T. Johnson, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Northwestern University
Location
A121
Discipline
Medical and Health Sciences
Start Date
15-4-2026 11:10 AM
End Date
15-4-2026 11:55 AM
Abstract
A stroke can damage the brain and cause hemiparesis, which is weakness on one side of the body. Many people with hemiparesis have difficulty walking. Their steps may be uneven, slower, and require more energy than typical walking due to muscle weakness, reduced coordination, and altered neural control. Testing every possible treatment directly on patients is difficult, so computer simulations provide another way to study possible treatments options. Here, we use OpenSim, a musculoskeletal modeling program, and Moco, an optimization tool, to simulate walking in people with post-stroke hemiparesis. This toolbox allows us to isolate the effect of muscle weakness from other types of impairment common after a stroke to predict gait changes. Using MATLAB, I analyzed simulations based on muscle group data and weakness from a prior study of nine participants with post-stroke hemiparesis. I compared three conditions: without intervention, with an ankle strengthening intervention, and with a rigid ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). Step time and step length asymmetries and metabolic cost results were computed and compared to assess differences between simulated interventions. These results help us understand how different types of therapeutic interventions can improve gait in people with post-stroke and provide a basis for personalized rehabilitation
Hemiparesis Patterns Help Explain Heterogeneous Gait Asymmetries in People Post-Stroke
A121
A stroke can damage the brain and cause hemiparesis, which is weakness on one side of the body. Many people with hemiparesis have difficulty walking. Their steps may be uneven, slower, and require more energy than typical walking due to muscle weakness, reduced coordination, and altered neural control. Testing every possible treatment directly on patients is difficult, so computer simulations provide another way to study possible treatments options. Here, we use OpenSim, a musculoskeletal modeling program, and Moco, an optimization tool, to simulate walking in people with post-stroke hemiparesis. This toolbox allows us to isolate the effect of muscle weakness from other types of impairment common after a stroke to predict gait changes. Using MATLAB, I analyzed simulations based on muscle group data and weakness from a prior study of nine participants with post-stroke hemiparesis. I compared three conditions: without intervention, with an ankle strengthening intervention, and with a rigid ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). Step time and step length asymmetries and metabolic cost results were computed and compared to assess differences between simulated interventions. These results help us understand how different types of therapeutic interventions can improve gait in people with post-stroke and provide a basis for personalized rehabilitation