Objective: Concerns about scar side effects which can result from the application of a gait assisted robot (GAR) to burn patients have been continuously raised. This study aimed to investigate the effect of mechanical load on the biomechanical properties of burn scars during GAR training.
Methods: This is a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Of 22 burn patients, ten received gait training using GAR, SUBAR® and conventional gait training a day and twelve patients received only conventional gait training twice a day. Gait training for two groups was conducted for 12 weeks. The values of melanin, erythema, scar thickness, distensibility and elasticity of burn scars, and active range of motion (ROM) of hip, knee, and ankle were assessed at pre-training, 4 and 12 weeks after training.
Results: Pre-training assessment showed no significant difference between the GAR and control groups (all, p>0.05). One patient in the GAR group discontinued training due to skin abrasion and two patients in the control group were excluded for not participating in the 3rd assessment. There were no musculoskeletal or cardiovascular adverse events, such as dizziness or increased or decreased blood pressure. The GAR group had no significant difference in the scar thickness and distensibility at 4 and 12 weeks after training compared to the control group (all, p>0.05). However, The GAR group showed significantly larger biological elasticity at 4 weeks after training than the control group (p=0.028) and larger improvement in the differences of knee extension and ankle dorsiflexion ROM between pre-training and 4 weeks after training (p=0.045, p=0.002) and between pre-training and 12 weeks after training (p=0.044, p=0.006).
Conclusion: GAR training for burn patients with scar contracture of lower extremities had no adverse effect on the scar thickness and distensibility. It affected the biological elasticity of burn scars positively.
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