Ankle proprioceptive deficits are common after stroke and occur independently of ankle motor impairments. Despite this independence, some studies have found that ankle proprioceptive deficits predict gait function, consistent with the concept that somatosensory input plays a key role in gait control. Other studies, however, have not found a relationship, possibly because of variability in proprioception assessments. Robotic assessments of proprioception offer improved consistency and sensitivity. Here we relationships between ankle proprioception, ankle motor impairment, and gait function after stroke using robotic assessments of ankle proprioception. We quantified ankle proprioception using two different robotic tests (Joint Position Reproduction and Crisscross) in 39 persons in the chronic phase of stroke. We analyzed the extent to which these robotic proprioception measures predicted gait speed, measured over a long distance (6-minute walk test) and a short distance (10-meter walk test). We also studied the relationship between robotic proprioception measures and lower extremity motor impairment, quantified with measures of ankle strength, active range of motion, and the lower extremity Fugl-Meyer exam. Impairment in ankle proprioception was present in 87% of the participants. Ankle proprioceptive acuity measured with JPR was weakly correlated with 6MWT gait speed (\r{ho} = -0.34, p = 0.039) but not 10mWT (\r{ho} = -0.29, p = 0.08). Ankle proprioceptive acuity was not correlated with lower extremity motor impairment (p > 0.2). These results confirm the presence of a weak relationship between ankle proprioception and gait after stroke that is independent of motor impairment.

翻译：脑卒中后踝关节本体感觉缺陷普遍存在，且与踝关节运动功能障碍相互独立。尽管存在这种独立性，部分研究发现踝关节本体感觉缺陷可预测步行功能，这与体感输入在步态控制中发挥关键作用的观点一致。然而，另一些研究未能发现这种关联，可能源于本体感觉评估方法的变异性。机器人本体感觉评估具有更高的一致性和敏感性。本研究采用机器人踝关节本体感觉评估方法，探讨脑卒中后踝关节本体感觉、踝关节运动功能障碍与步行功能之间的关系。我们通过对39例慢性期脑卒中患者实施两项不同的机器人测试（关节位置再现测试和交叉测试）来量化踝关节本体感觉功能，分析这些机器人本体感觉指标对长距离（6分钟步行测试）和短距离（10米步行测试）步行速度的预测能力。同时研究了机器人本体感觉指标与下肢运动功能障碍（通过踝关节力量、主动活动范围及下肢Fugl-Meyer量表评估）的关联性。87%的受试者存在踝关节本体感觉缺损。JPR测试测得的踝关节本体感觉敏锐度与6MWT步行速度呈弱相关（ρ = -0.34, p = 0.039），但与10mWT无显著相关（ρ = -0.29, p = 0.08）。踝关节本体感觉敏锐度与下肢运动功能障碍无相关性（p > 0.2）。这些结果证实脑卒中后踝关节本体感觉与步行功能存在独立于运动功能障碍的弱关联。