This systematic review aimed to pool available evidence of differences in trunk and lower extremity biomechanics during the different phases of a sit-to-stand (STS) task between persons with stroke and to healthy controls.

Four electronic databases (Medline, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) were systematically searched up to, and including, December 2021. Studies were included if they investigated kinematic, kinetic and/or electromyographic outcome measures of adults with stroke during STS and compared results with healthy controls. Data from eligible studies were categorized according to STS subphases if reported (Phase I: Movement onset to seat-off; Seat-off; Phase II: Seat-off to movement termination; Whole task [if no subtasks reported]). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess risk of bias.

Twenty-one studies were included in this systematic review. Methodological quality ranged from 13% to 75%; mean score was 55%. The findings of this systematic review suggest that after stroke, people rise to stand (phase I) with increased lateral trunk flexion and displacement of the center of pressure (COP) towards the non-paretic side, decreased anterior pelvic tilt, decreased hip flexion and altered timing of lower limb muscle activation. In addition, during phase II, lateral pelvic translation and weight distribution asymmetry was increased, knee extension velocity was decreased and delayed, stabilization was decreased and COP velocity was increased compared with healthy subjects.

This systematic review clearly showed changes in kinematics, kinetics and muscle recruitment after stroke, with differences between the different phases of STS. Therapeutic interventions should focus on subphases of this functional task to optimize performance in daily living.