The recovery of walking ability and subclassification of stroke

The recovery of walking after a stroke is a key functional goal for many patients. Reports vary, but approximately 50-80% of patients will regain some degree of walking ability following stroke (Skilbeck et al., 1983). There are few data available to show whether different subclassifications of stroke have distinct patterns of gait recovery. The present paper describes the pattern of walking recovery in a population of stroke patients classified according to the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project classification (Bamford et al., 1991).