Observation and analysis of hemiplegic gait: swing phase.

Following hemiplegic stroke, many people present with one or more clinically significant kinematic deviations from normal gait. Significant kinematic deviations observed in swing phase include decreased peak hip flexion, decreased peak knee flexion, decreased knee extension for heel strike and decreased ankle dorsiflexion throughout swing. In this paper the causes of these kinematic deviations are discussed in terms of the forces produced by the inappropriate activation and adaptive shortening of particular muscle groups.