The Time for Stroke Patients to Start Walking Training

In general, the earlier stroke survivors are trained to walk, the faster they recover. If patients stay in bed or sit in a wheelchair for a long time, they will have a fear of heights and falling when they try to stand and move again. In addition, prolonged exposure to the lying or sitting can result in reduced trunk strength and aggravate the abnormal flexion pattern throughout the body, making it more difficult for the patient to resist gravity and move body while standing. However, this does not mean that we should put patients on gait training right away.

Some families and patients act too hastily. We often see several family members carrying the patient in the hallway, dragging the patient forward. This practice is not helpful to the patient, and will increase the difficulty of walking in the later stage of patients, leading to the wrong walking posture. The answer to when the patient can start walking training is individual; we need to consider the patient's trunk control, lower limb ability and balance ability.

Criteria for Patients to Start Walking Training

1.The patient can stand on both legs. Being able to stand for more than 10 minutes is the foundation for practicing walking.

2.During early walking attempts, the patient does not need the help of a therapist or family member to straighten the affected leg and move the affected leg.

3.Patients can use the affected leg to support the body and move the healthy leg forward.

4.When attempting to walk, the patient is able to shift weight to the healthy leg and step with the hemiplegic leg without a large tilt or twist in the trunk. It shows that the affected leg is able to walk up a lower step (below 5cm) while supported by the healthy leg.

5.With the aid of a cane or folding walker, the patient was able to walk normally without significant limb spasms or body shaking.

Points to note during walking training

1.During walking training, attention should be paid to whether there is continuous hyperextension of the knee and plantarflexion of the foot when the affected leg supports the body. If so, the abnormal movement will become habitual during repeated walking training and will be difficult to change in the future.

2. If the patient feels panic every time he or she tries to walk, we should not force him or her to continue to walk even though the patient's leg function level is good, let alone accuse him or her of lacking courage. It may be caused by the patient's sensory impairment or other special problems.

The walking training of stroke patients can not be too hasty. If the patient's ability is not enough to carry out walking training, they need to strengthen muscle strength and balance ability first under the guidance of therapists, to avoid the occurrence of abnormal gait, joint injury, fall and other adverse conditions.