"Youth with Concussion have Less Adaptable Gait Patterns than their Uni" by David R. Howell, Scott Bonnette et al.
 

Title

Youth with Concussion have Less Adaptable Gait Patterns than their Uninjured Peers: Implications for Concussion Management

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-1-2020

Abstract

© 2020 Movement Science Media. All rights reserved. OBJECTIVE: To compare cross-recurrence quantification analysis measurements obtained during gait between adolescents who sustained a diagnosed concussion within 14 days of assessment and healthy adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: Youth athletes with concussion (n = 43; mean ± SD age, 14.4 ± 2.3 years; 56% female; tested median, 7 days post concussion) and healthy controls (n = 38; age, 14.9 ± 2.0 years; 55% female) completed a single-task and dualtask gait protocol while wearing a set of inertial sensors. We used cross-recurrence quantification analysis techniques to quantify the similarity between accelerations obtained from the sensor on the dorsum of each foot. Four outcome variables were compared between groups: percent determinism, average diagonal-line length, laminarity, and trapping time. RESULTS: Athletes with concussion had significantly higher percent determinism, laminarity, and trapping time than the control group in single-task and dual-task conditions (P<.05). Gait patterns, when simultaneously completing a secondary cognitive task (dual task), were no different from gait patterns under a single-task condition. CONCLUSION: Higher percent determinism, laminarity, and trapping time among athletes with concussion suggest that concussion may be associated with a more stuck and predictable gait pattern. These altered movement patterns may be one reason for underlying slower gait speeds that have been observed following concussion.

Link to Full Text
COinS