the muscles that are necessary for normal gait. Furthermore,
gait is closely connected with the environment, since gait
adapts and is modified to overcome obstacles and the varied
geography that are faced during walking5)
. Due to central
nervous system damage, stroke patients show muscle weakness,
abnormal muscle tone, and disorders of balance and
posture control, which result in difficulty in the control of
movement6)
. For these reasons, problems occur with the
quality and adaptation of the gait pattern, resulting from
imbalance in the low extremity stance phase of the affected
side and of the low extremity stance phase of the unaffected
side, a decline in cadence and gait velocity, asymmetrical
weight distribution, and a difference between step length
and stride length7, 8)
. In particular, gait disorder after stroke
reduces the functional independence level and results in a
negative prognosis, which is a reason why regaining gait
ability is a critical element directly connected with patients’
independence and is one of the goals of rehabilitation9)
.
Neurotherapy methods, which include Bobath therapy and
proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, mainly focus on
the control of abnormal muscle tone and of the asymmetrical
movement which leads to gait disorder10)
. These methods
require many therapists and time, because they mainly consist
of muscle strengthening movements in a static position