Consequences of Stroke on the Walking Parameters of Hemipare
c Pa
ents in Borgou (Benin)

Abstract

Background: A
er a stroke, the accomplishment of daily life ac
vi
es depends on the recovery of the motor func
on. Few data are available on post stroke walk recovery in the African context. This study aimed to determine the rela
onship between the age of stroke occurrence in Benin and its consequences on the walking speed and endurance of hemiplegic pa
ents. Methods and
ndings: This was a cross-sec
onal pilot study and carried out at the University hospital of Borgou and included 22 hemiplegic people (63.8% men). The Measurement of Func
onal Ambula
on Classi
ca
on, Barthel Index and Modi
ed Rankins Scale to evaluate the func
onal ability; and walking speed over 10 m and 6 minutes walking test (endurance), for the motor performance. The subjects (54.9 ± 5.5 years old) have an average speed of 0.82 ± 0.2 m.s-1 (16.7 ± 2.6 steps) and an average endurance of 329.3 ± 67.1 m. The comparison of the 2 sub-groups sta
s
cally di
erent in age (p<0.05): G1: <55 years old (51 ± 3.2 years) and G2 ≥ 55 years old (58.8 ± 4.4 years) but no signi
cant di
erence has seen in the walking speed, the number of steps and endurance (p>0.05). Conclusion: The young age of the par
cipants did not allow making a remarkable di
erence between the walking performance, the number of steps and the endurance of the two subgroups of pa
ents aged 43 to 68 years. Therefore we need the mul
center studies in order to study the real impact of age and other factors to the walking speed, endurance and performance.