Gait Stability After Stroke (AdaptGait)

November 6, 2026 updated by: University Rehabilitation Institute, Republic of Slovenia

Influence of Added Tasks and Different Environmental Conditions on Gait Stability After Stroke

The study will investigate gait stability in individuals post-stroke compared with age- and sex-matched healthy adults. Participants will undergo laboratory-based walking assessments under different environmental conditions, including level walking, uphill and downhill walking, and unexpected slip perturbations, with and without added cognitive, postural, and load-carrying tasks. The primary outcome measures will be the Margin of Stability (MOS), step width, and step width variability.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

: The study will recruit 20-30 adults post-stroke and an equal number of healthy controls. Participants post-stroke will be recruited after discharge from their regular rehabilitation. Participants will complete a single assessment session involving walking on a instrumented dual-belt treadmill mounted on a Stewart platform while secured with a safety harness. Walking conditions will include level, inclined, declined, and slip-perturbed walking, as well as walking combined with serial subtraction, head turning, or backpack carrying. Three-dimensional motion capture, force measurements, and surface electromyography will be used to quantify gait biomechanics and neuromuscular responses. The effects of environmental conditions and added tasks on gait stability, balance control, and fall risk will be compared between groups to identify biomechanical and neuromuscular markers associated with increased fall susceptibility after stroke.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Slovenia
      • Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1000
        • University Rehabilitation Institute, Republic of Slovenia

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria - stroke group:

  • Discharge from regular rehabilitation
  • First unilateral ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke affecting one of the cerebral hemispheres
  • More than 3 months post-stroke
  • Mini-Mental State Examination score ≥24 or cognitive ability to participate in the study
  • Ability to walk independently in the community without a walking aid
  • Moderate to mild balance impairment (Mini-BESTest score 16-25)
  • Sufficient cognitive and physical ability to participate
  • Ability to walk on a treadmill in intervals for up to 30 altogether

Inclusion Criteria - healthy control group:

  • Age- and sex-matched to participants with stroke
  • Mini-BESTest score ≥ 16
  • Sufficient cognitive and physical ability to participate
  • Ability to walk on a treadmill in intervals for up to 30 altogether

Exclusion Criteria (both groups):

  • Musculoskeletal impairments affecting gait or balance
  • Severe cardiovascular disease or heart failure (NYHA Class III-IV)
  • Other neurological disorders

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Post-stroke patients

Adults with unilateral stroke (>3 months post-stroke) will undergo assessment of gait stability and balance responses during treadmill walking under different environmental conditions (level, uphill, downhill, and slip-perturbed walking) and added tasks (serial subtraction, head turning, and backpack carrying).
Other: Level treadmill walking

Level treadmill walking

Other: Uphill treadmill walking

Uphill treadmill walking

Other: Downhill treadmill walking

Downhill treadmill walking

Other: Slip-perturbed treadmill walking

Slip-perturbed treadmill walking

Other: Added task: serial subtraction

Added task: serial subtraction

Other: Added task: head turning

Added task: head turning

Other: Added task: backpack carrying

Added task: backpack carrying
Active Comparator: Control group: healthy control participants

Age- and sex-matched healthy adults will undergo the same assessment protocol as the post-stroke patients, i.e., assessment of gait stability and balance responses during treadmill walking under different environmental conditions (level, uphill, downhill, and slip-perturbed walking) and added tasks (serial subtraction, head turning, and backpack carrying).
Other: Level treadmill walking

Level treadmill walking

Other: Uphill treadmill walking

Uphill treadmill walking

Other: Downhill treadmill walking

Downhill treadmill walking

Other: Slip-perturbed treadmill walking

Slip-perturbed treadmill walking

Other: Added task: serial subtraction

Added task: serial subtraction

Other: Added task: head turning

Added task: head turning

Other: Added task: backpack carrying

Added task: backpack carrying

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Margin of Stability (MOS)
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Margin of stability in the anteroposterior and mediolateral directions calculated from kinematic and kinetic gait data during walking under different environmental conditions and added tasks, expressed in cm (more is better)
During the intervention (periprocedurally)
Step Width
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Mean step width measured during walking under different environmental conditions and added tasks, expressed in cm (less is better)
During the intervention (periprocedurally)
Step Width Variability
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Variability of step width calculated across consecutive gait cycles during walking under different environmental conditions and added tasks, , expressed as coeffcient of variation (less is better)
During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Spatiotemporal Gait Parameter 1: Cadence
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Gait cadence (in steps/min; less is better) measured using the instrumented treadmill
During the intervention (periprocedurally)
Spatiotemporal Gait Parameter 2: Step Length
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Gait step length (in cm, more is better) measured using the instrumented treadmill
During the intervention (periprocedurally)
Spatiotemporal Gait Parameter 3: Stance Time
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Gait stance time (in s, less is better) measured using the instrumented treadmill
During the intervention (periprocedurally)
Spatiotemporal Gait Parameter 4: Swing Time
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Gait swing time (in cm, more is better) measured using the instrumented treadmill
During the intervention (periprocedurally)
Kinetic Variable 1: Ground Reaction Force
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Ground reaction force in antero-posterior direction (in N; less is better) measured using the instrumented treadmill
During the intervention (periprocedurally)
Kinetic Variable 2: Center-of-pressure Movement
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Center-of-pressure movement in antero-posterior and medio-lateral direction (in cm; less is better) measured using the instrumented treadmill
During the intervention (periprocedurally)
Kinetic Variable 3: Velocity
Time Frame: During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Velocity in antero-posterior and medio-lateral direction (in cm/s; smaller is better) measured using the instrumented treadmill
During the intervention (periprocedurally)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University Rehabilitation Institute, Republic of Slovenia

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Metka Močilar, MSc PT, University Rehabilitation Institute, Republic of Slovenia
  • Study Director: Urška Puh, PT, PhD, University Rehabilitation Institute, Republic of Slovenia

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 6, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 6, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • URIS202602

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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