The objectives of this study were to: (1) demonstrate the use of compu
terized, three-dimensional gait analysis as a functional assessment in
strument following clinical intervention; and (2) objectively quantify
the effects of focal muscle denervation via botulinum toxin type A (B
TXA) injection in a hemiparetic patient with lower extremity spasticit
y following traumatic brain injury (TBI). A desired outcome of this in
tervention was to realize kinematics more closely resembling those rep
orted for normal patients. The design was a single-subject case study.
Ten trials of walking gait were analysed pre-injection (PI), 1 week p
ost-injection (1PO) and 4 weeks post-injection(4PO). The PI and 1PO se
ssions were found to be appreciably different from the 1PO on the join
t angles of the ankle and knee at each phase of the gait cycle. These
differences resulted in a reduced asymmetry of ambulation. Stride time
, stance time, percentage stance time, percentage swing rime and walki
ng speed improved, showing progress towards a more efficient gait patt
ern. Decreased stride time and increased walking speed supported impro
ved functional ability. The inter-trial variability of the gait parame
ters showed the analysis to be a consistently reproducible protocol. C
onclusions based on the results included encouraging findings for the
efficacy of botulinum toxin A as a therapy for the reduction of spasti
city.