Abstract: Objective To explore the characteristics of hemiparetic gait for stroke patients. Methods 49 stroke patients were allocated to two groups: experimental group (n=33) received 3D-video gait analysis, and control group (n=16) received the gait analysis with ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). The kinematic parameters were compared between two groups, and the experimental group with normal gaits. Results Compared with the normal gaits, the step, stride, step frequency, gait velocity, and the percentage single support in gait cycle decreased significantly,and gait width, and the percentage in gait cycle of double support increased significantly in the experimental group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in kinematic parameters beween the experimental group and the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion The major kinematic characteristics of hemiparetic gait are slow velocity, long cycle, relative decrease of single support of weak limb, and increase of double support.

Key words: stroke, hemiplegia, gait analysis, kinematic parameters