Muscle Synergies After Stroke

The aim of this systematic review was to determine the number of muscle synergies and the distribution of muscle weightings in stroke patients during gait. Although literature has suggested that merging of synergies occurs after stroke and that a larger number of is associated with increased motor function if compared with healthy adults. IIt is still unknown if this hypothesis is also relevant when comparing different functional levels within a stroke population and what functional impact of altered synergies on walking behavior is.

Inclusion criteria

Stroke:

• haemorrhagic or ischaemic stroke diagnosis, confirmed on the basis of CT or MRI imaging;
• no known history of previous stroke;
• stroke onset within five months; 4 patients are between 18 and 85 years of age;

Exclusion criteria

Stroke:

• A score of 20 or higher on the Trunk Impairment Scale which indicates normal truncal function;
• A score lower than two on the Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC) as patients needed to be able to ambulate without physical support to ensure that gait analysis can be executed safely;
• Not able to sit independently for 30 seconds on a stable surface;
• They suffer from other neurological and orthopaedic disorders that could influence motor performance and balance;
• not able to understand instructions.