This study suggests that in post-stroke hemiplegic patients using ankle-foot orthosis, wearing rocker shoes can lead to much more improved functional mobility and decreased energy expenditure compared to ankle-foot orthosis only. Thus, in stroke patients, the combination of ankle-foot orthosis-rocker shoes is recommended for both rehabilitation programs and ankle-foot orthosis efficacy investigations.

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Background: Musculoskeletal pain syndromes (MSPSs) are of the most common disorders in modern societies. Lack of early diagnosis and treatment of this syndrome may lead to significant disabilities later in life. Objectives: Due to shortage of information regarding the prevalence and related factors of MSPS in the south-east of Iran, this study aimed at determining MSPS and its relation to demographic variables and underlying diseases such as diabetes and hypertension in this area. Methods: This across sectional population-based study was conducted on 1700 individuals (15 -80 years), who participated in the second phase of Kerman coronary artery disease risk factor study (KERCADRs), in Kerman, Iran, in 2016. A questionnaire containing demographic information, opium use, smoking and MSPS was completed. Blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipid levels were also measured. Results: From a total of 1700 participants, 41.6% were males and 58.4% were females. The mean age of the participants was 47.8 years. The overall prevalence of MSPS was 65.5% that was more prevalent in women and increased with advancing age approaching the highest prevalence in the group above 75 years (78.4%) (adjusted odds ratio, AOR > 1.6). The prevalence increased with diabetes (AOR 1.5), overweight and obesity (OR 1.6, 2.2), and depression and anxiety (AOR 1.5, 2.3). In multivariate analysis, MSPS had no relationship with smoking, opium consumption, hypertension, level of education and dyslipidemia. Conclusions: Overall, more than 65% of the population over 15 years in Kerman suffer from MSPSs. If the rate of such complications is not reduced, this can exert heavy health-care costs on the Iranian health system given the existing trend of increase in the age and age-related diseases in the population.

Objectives: Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFOs) are widely utilized to improve walking ability in hemiplegic patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Rocker bar Ankle Foot Orthosis (RAFO) on functional mobility in post-stroke hemiplegic patients. Methods:Fifteen hemiplegic patients (men and women) who were at least 6-months poststroke and able to walk without an assistive device for at least 10 meters voluntarily participated in this study. The patients were examined for three conditions: shoes only, with SAFO and with RAFO. Their functional mobility was evaluated through 10-meter walk test and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. In addition, paired t-test was used to analyze the obtained data.Results: When the patients used RAFO, their gait speed significantly increased (P<0.05). Moreover, the time of performing TUG test experienced a significant decrease using RAFO compared with utilizing shoe only (P<0.05).Discussion: RAFO led to a significant improvement in functional mobility in hemiplegic patients post stroke. This may be due to the positive effect of rocker modification on improving push off and transferring weight during the stance phase of gait. A B S T R A C T