Using Standing Postures as a Practical Alternative to Gait Analysis for Assessing Normal Neuromotor Activity Variation of the Ankle Muscle Antagonists: A Soleus H-reflex and EMG Activity Study Comparing Patients with Hemiplegia to Healthy Subjects

the purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the soleus h-reflex amplitudes recorded in three standing postures between a group of patients with stroke and a group of healthy subjects. nine ambulatory patients were compared with 10 healthy subjects. measures were recorded during quiet standing (qs), heels raised (po) and with the foot of the measured leg held just off the ground while standing on the opposite leg (sw). the results showed that patients, as opposed to the healthy group, did not inhibit soleus h-reflex in the sw posture. as opposed to evaluating ankle motor control during gait, the po and sw standing postures appeared to offer a practical and objective method to assess soleus h-reflex when the purpose is to determine impairment (or recovery) of ankle neuromotor control in stroke survivors.