Tests curved-walking training to help stroke, Parkinson and hip fracture patients regain walking
Compares curved-walking training with straight-walking training in adults with stroke, Parkinson disease or femur fracture.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Assessment of the Rehabilitative Effects of Curved-walking Training in Stroke, Parkinson and Orthopaedic Populations
Key facts
- Where
- Lissone, ItalySee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 90 years old?
Source: NCT03545477, who can take part
Where in Italy
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri Spa, Scientific Institute of LissoneLissone, ItalyTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA
- Trial code
- NCT03545477
- Record updated
- 15 October 2026
- Original description
The recovery of walking ability is crucial to promote independence in daily living and is one of the major goal of neuromotor rehabilitation.Read full original descriptionShow less
Assessment of the Rehabilitative Effects of Curved-walking Training in Stroke, Parkinson and Orthopaedic Populations
The recovery of walking ability is crucial to promote independence in daily living and is one of the major goal of neuromotor rehabilitation.
Currently, standard rehabilitative programs are usually based on straight-walking training (SWT) and the assessment of their effects is performed through functional scales based on straight-walking trajectories, e.g. Timed Up and Go (TUG), 10 meters walking test (10mWT).
Curved-walking training (CWT) may be interesting to provide an ecological and challenging context during rehabilitation. Indeed, CWT is based on demanding neural processes that drive an asymmetrical contribution at lower limb level, challenging balance ability and complex adaptation such as body weight shifting in response to centrifugal force and production of different step lengths.
Up to now, literature has investigated CWT in healthy adults in terms of muscular activation, kinematics and kinetics of the movement. Results showed that CWT needs a different biomechanical strategy with respect to SWT. Nevertheless CWT has not been investigated in pathological adults.
The present study aims at assessing the effectiveness of a rehabilitative physical therapy based on CWT with respect to traditional SWT for the recovery of locomotor abilities in neurological and orthopaedic patients.
The hypothesis is that a training based on curved-walking is ecologically meaningful and may be superior with respect to standard training in improving balance, walking abilities, and independence in activity of daily live of patients.
A secondary aim of the project is to propose an innovative functional scale based on the timed up and go on curved trajectory (CTUG), and to determine its reliability and responsiveness, establishing the minimum Detectable Change (MDC) and the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID).
A single-blind randomized controlled study is being carried out on three different populations:
* Post-acute stroke patients * Idiopathic Parkinson Disease * Femoral fracture
A healthy group is also being recruited to provide reference values of CTUG. For each of the three populations, subjects are randomized into two groups. The experimental one performs a novel rehabilitative program composed by a 30-minute training on curved trajectory ("S" trajectory composed by two semicircle with a radius of 1.2 m) in addition to usual care. The control group performs an equal dose of traditional treatment on straight trajectories.
Both groups undergo 20 90-minutes sessions of training (three times a week for seven weeks).
Participants are evaluated at baseline (T0), after training (T1), and at a three-months follow-up visit (T2).
The primary outcome measure is the 10mWT (minimal clinically important difference of 0.16 m/s identified by Tilson and colleagues). On the basis of this measure, a sample size of 70 subjects for each population was computed.
Inclusion: Post-acute stroke patients experiencing a stroke less than 6 months before recruitment; Idiopathic Parkinson Disease with disability level from moderate to severe (modified Hoehn \& Yahr scale 2.5-4); Femoral fracture, less than 1 month form surgery.
Exclusion: Unstable pharmacological treatment for Parkinson's Disease during the 15 days before the recruitment; Previous history of major neurological, vascular, musculoskeletal disorders; cardiopathic conditions; metabolic conditions (e.g. dialysis) that prevent patients from aerobic training; Invasive pharmacological treatment or surgery for Parkinson's disease; Cognitive deficits (Mini Mental Scale Evaluation < 24); Hemineglect; Modified Ashworth Scale of lower limb >2; Body Mass Index > 30 Kg/m2; lower limb pain (VAS >3).