Treatment of knee hyperextension in post-stroke gait. A systematic review

Background: Post-stroke, patients exhibit considerable variations in gait patterns. One of the variations that can be present in post-stroke gait is knee hyperextension in the stance phase.

Research question: What is the current evidence for the effectiveness of the treatment of knee hyperextension in post-stroke gait?

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PEDro, CINAHL, and the Cochrane library were searched for relevant controlled trials. Two researchers independently extracted the data and assessed the methological quality. A best evidence synthesis was conducted to summarize the results.

Results: Eight controlled trials (5 RCTs, 3 CCTs) were included. Three types of interventions were identified: proprioceptive training, orthotic treatment, and functional electrostimulation (FES). In the included studies, the time since the stroke occurrence varied from the (sub)acute phase to the chronic phase. Only short-term effects were investigated. The adjustment from a form of proprioceptive training to physiotherapy training programs seems to be effective (moderate evidence) for treating knee hyperextension in gait, as applied in the subacute phase post-stroke. Neither evidence for effects on gait speed nor gait symmetry were found as a result of proprioceptive training. Orthoses that cover the knee have some effects (limited evidence) on knee hyperextension and gait speed. No evidence was found for FES.

Significance: This is the first systematic literature review on the effectiveness of interventions on knee hyperextension in post-stroke gait. We found promising results (moderate evidence) for some "proprioceptive approaches" as an add-on therapy to physiotherapy training programs for treating knee hyperextension during the subacute phase post-stroke, in the short-term. Therefore, initially, clinicians should implement a training program with a proprioceptive approach in order to restore knee control in these patients. Because only studies reporting short-term results were found, more high-quality RCTs and CCTs are needed that also study mid- and long-term effects.