Weight-bearing on the lower limbs in a sitting position during bilateral movement of the upper limbs in post-stroke hemiparetic subjects

Objective: Verify weight-bearing on the feet in a sitting position during pointing in different directions with 1 or both upper limbs. Design: Comparative study. Subjects: Fifteen subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis with good to very good motor recovery and 13 healthy subjects participated in the study. Methods: The subjects were seated on a chair with each foot resting on a force plate. They had to touch with 1 or, simultaneously with both hands, 2 target(s) located in front of them or at a 45 angle on either side at a standardized distance beyond their upper limb's length. The percentage of weight loading variation under each foot was measured. Results: Weight-bearing on the paretic foot is reduced during unilateral and bilateral pointing in the anterior direction and 45 ipsilateral to the paretic side. However, both unilateral and bilateral pointing 45 contralateral to the paretic side produced symmetrical weight-bearing on both feet, paretic and non-paretic. Conclusion: Since the paretic muscles of the trunk are probably used to control the leaning of the trunk towards the non-paretic side, the subjects with hemiparesis may put weight on the paretic foot to compensate for trunk weakness and maintain balance.