Objective: To investigate the effect of gait training on a sandy beach with shallow seawater waves for patients with chronic stroke.
Methods: Twenty-eight patients with chronic stroke were randomly assigned to receive gait training on a beach (beach group) or indoors (urban group). All patients received gait training for 30 min per session, two sessions a day for 5 days. Outcome measures evaluated before and after treatment included Functional Ambulatory Category (FAC), Motricity Index for the lower extremity (MI-Lower), self-selected velocity (SSV) and fast velocity (FV) for 10-meter walk test (10MWT), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go (TUG), and spatiotemporal parameters of gait evaluated using G-Walk.
Results: In the beach group, MI-Lower, 10MWT-SSV, 10MWT-FV, and BBS scores were significantly improved after training than before training (p < 0.05) but not in the urban group (p > 0.05). The changes in MI-Lower, 10MWT-SSV, 10MWT-FV, and BBS scores were significantly greater in the beach group than in the urban group (p < 0.05). For spatiotemporal parameters, cadence and gait velocity were significantly higher after training than before training in the beach group (p < 0.05) but not in the urban group (p > 0.05). The changes in cadence, gait velocity, and affected-side stride length were significantly greater in the beach group than in the urban group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Gait training on a sandy beach with shallow seawater waves improved lower extremity strength, walking ability, and balance in chronic stroke patients.

THE EFFECTS OF GAIT TRAINING ON THE SANDY BEACH WITH SHALLOW WATER FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC STROKE