Effects of Combined Treatment by Botulinum Toxin and Lokomat® on Walking Ability in Chronic Stroke

In the researchers' words

75% patients in the chronic phase of a stroke keep walking disabilities. Focal spasticity in the paretic lower limb frequently causes these walking disabilities, and the gold standard treatment is intramuscular injection of Botulinum toxin A in the spastic muscles. To potentiate the effects of toxin, walking rehabilitation is usually prescribed in the weeks following injection, but the protocols vary and few have been evaluated in the medical literature. In particular, the effect on walking ability of combined treatment by botulinum toxin A and robot-assisted gait training has never been evaluated. Tested hypothesis: Robot-assisted gait training by Lokomat® motorized exoskeleton potentiates botulinum toxin's effects better than conventional walking therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects on walking ability of the association of focal spasticity treatment by Botulinum toxin and Lokomat-assisted walking rehabilitation in patients suffering from spastic hemiparesia after stroke in the chronic phase. Outcome: -Primary: distance walked (meters) in the six-minute walk test (SMWT) Prospective, randomized, controlled, opened, monocentric study with a crossover design. Recruitment of patients over 18 years of age, in the chronic phase of stroke, who have already been treated by Botulinum toxin injection for focal spasticity in our PMR ward. Assessment at Day…