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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1494133

Bilateral lower limb symmetry during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit tasks in stroke patients with hemiplegia

Provisionally accepted
MEIJIN HOU MEIJIN HOU 1Jian He Jian He 2Dongwei Liu Dongwei Liu 3*Chenyi Guo Chenyi Guo 4*Ye Ma Ye Ma 2*Xiaobo Luo Xiaobo Luo 5*
  • 1 Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China
  • 2 Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
  • 3 Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 4 Tsinghua University, Beijing, Beijing, China
  • 5 The 4th Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Stroke patients with hemiplegia are at an increased risk of falling during sit-to-stand (Si-St) and stand-to-sit (St-Si) tasks, partly due to impaired bilateral lower limb symmetry. Maintaining symmetrical movement between the limbs in these tasks can help reduce fall incidence. This study aimed to investigate bilateral lower limb symmetry during Si-St and St-Si tasks in stroke patients with hemiplegia to compare their performance with healthy controls. Thirteen stroke patients and thirteen healthy controls participated in the study. Participants were instructed to perform the 30-second chair stand test at their self-selected pace. Kinematic and kinetic parameters were calculated using OpenSim's inverse kinematics and inverse dynamics tools.Bilateral symmetry was quantified using the symmetry index (SI), with an asymmetry threshold set at 10%. The stroke group exhibited significantly greater lower limb asymmetry in both kinematic and kinetic parameters during Si-St and St-Si tasks compared to the healthy controls, with the kinetic parameters being more pronounced. In the stroke group, notable bilateral asymmetry (SI >10%) was observed in the ankle joint angle (P <0.05) during both tasks. Furthermore, severe asymmetry (SI >30%) was identified joint moments across all lower limb joints, vertical ground reaction forces, and medial-lateral center of pressure. These findings highlight the need for targeted rehabilitation programs focusing on improving strength, coordination, and balance.Close monitoring of SI values, particularly for kinetic parameters, is recommended to guide and evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions.

    Keywords: Stroke, bilateral, symmetry index, Sit-to-stand, Stand-to-sit

    Received: 15 Oct 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 HOU, He, Liu, Guo, Ma and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Dongwei Liu, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
    Chenyi Guo, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, Beijing, China
    Ye Ma, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
    Xiaobo Luo, The 4th Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.