• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.125-135
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• 2012

Purpose : This study is designed to demonstrate the effects of circuit obstacle group gait training on walking ability and emotion in stroke patients. Methods : Twenty one patients with stroke were participated in this study. The subjects were divided into control group(n=10) and experimental group(n=11). Circuit obstacle group gait training consisted of walking around obstacles, walking over obstacles, walking up and down slopes and walking up and down stairs. Circuit obstacle group gait training was conducted five times per week, 1 hour per session, for 6 consecutive weeks. At pre-test and post-test, subjects were tested with 10 m walking test, timed up and go test, up and down 4 stairs test, depression and self esteem. Results : After 6 weeks of research, the experimental group showed statistically significant difference in all items when comparing prior to training and after training (p<.05), but the control group showed statistically significant difference in items other than depression and self esteem(p<.05). In the comparison between the two groups, the experimental group showed higher improvement than the control group in the 10 m walking test, timed up and go test, and up and down 4 stairs test, and there was statistically significant difference in decrease of degree in depression between the experimental group and control group(p<.05). Conclusion : This study have shown that circuit obstacle group gait training improves walking ability and emotion in stroke patients.