The Effect of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation During Gait Training on Kinematic Parameters of Gait in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rhythmic auditory stimulation during gait training on some kinematics parameters of gait in patients with multiple sclerosis. 18 patients with MS (4 males and 14 females) with Expanded Disability Status Scale scores of 3 to 6 were selected by accessible and purposive sampling method. Patients were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. Training was performed for three weeks, three times a week and each session 30 minutes. These Trainings for the experimental group included gait with rhythmic auditory stimulus and for the control group included gait without stimulus. Before and after training, step length, step time, duration of stance and duration of swing were measured by motion analysis device. data were analyzed using covariance analysis model and boot strap non-parametric method in covariance analysis model. Findings showed rhythmic auditory stimulation has significant effect on improvement of step length and duration of stance. Nevertheless gait training with rhythmic auditory stimulus leads to 27% improvement in step time and 10% in duration of swing, but there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in improvement of step time and duration of swing. Therefore, gait training with rhythmic auditory stimulation supposed as a complementary rehabilitation method to improve gait function in patients with multiple sclerosis.