Effect of ankle-foot orthosis on weight bearing of chronic stroke patients performing various functional standing tasks

[Purpose] This study examined how an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) influences theweight-bearing of chronic stroke patients during the performance of five functionalstanding tasks. [Subjects and Methods] Sixteen patients with stroke participated in thisexperiment. The subjects performed functional standing tasks with or without the AFO andweight bearing was measured during the tasks. [Results] Patients showed increasedweight-bearing ability on the affected side during wearing the AFO in all tasks, and therewere significant differences among Tasks 1, 2, and 3. Patients showed a small amount ofincreased weight bearing on the unaffected side while wearing the AFO in all tasks exceptfor Task 2. [Conclusion] ADL-related functional standing tasks with AFO increased theweight bearing.Key words: Ankle-foot orthosis, Weight bearing, Functional standing tasks