Impact of modifying spatiotemporal asymmetry on dynamic balance during walking post-stroke

Spatiotemporal gait asymmetries are a common feature of walking post-stroke. Although reducing asymmetry is a common objective of rehabilitation, the functional benefits of improving symmetry are not well understood. Here, we determined how manipulation of step length asymmetry influenced dynamic balance during walking post-stroke. We quantified fore-aft margins of stability (MoS) and whole body angular momentum (WBAM) as our measures of dynamic balance. Our preliminary results demonstrate that people post-stroke increase the MoS on the side for which step length is increased, but they increase WBAM in response to both increases or reductions in their natural asymmetry. These results suggest that acute manipulations of step length asymmetry can potentially reduce dynamic stability in the sagittal plane during walking post-stroke.