Identification of Postconcussion Dual-Task Gait Abnormalities Using Normative Reference Values
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University of Colorado School of Medicine
The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention
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University of Delaware
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Boston Children’s Hospital
Harvard Medical School
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The purpose of this study was to identify the rate of abnormal single-task and dual-task gait performance following concussion compared to uninjured controls using previously established normative reference values. The authors examined athletes with a concussion (n = 54; mean age = 20.3 [1.1] y, 46% female, tested 2.9 [1.5] d postinjury), and healthy controls were tested during their preseason baseline examination (n = 60; mean age = 18.9 [0.7] y, 37% female). Participants completed an instrumented single-/dual-task gait evaluation. Outcome variables included average walking speed, cadence, and step length. A significantly greater number of those with concussion walked with abnormal dual-task gait speed compared with the control group (56% vs 30%, P = .01). After adjusting for potential confounding variables (age, concussion history, symptom severity, and sleep), concussion was associated with lower dual-task gait speed (β = −0.150; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.252 to −0.047), cadence (β = −8.179; 95% CI = −14.49 to −1.871), and stride length (β = −0.109; 95% CI = −0.204 to −0.014). Although group analyses indicated that those with a concussion performed worse on single-task and dual-task gait compared with controls, a higher rate of abnormal gait was detected for the concussion group compared with the control group for dual-task gait speed only. Dual-task gait speed, therefore, may be considered as a measure to compare against normative values to detect postconcussion impairments.
Howell is with Sports Medicine Center, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA; and the Department of Orthopedics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA. Howell and Meehan are with The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, MA, USA. Buckley is with the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA; and the Interdisciplinary Program in Biomechanics and Movement Science, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA. Berkstresser and Wang are with Harvard University Health Service, Cambridge, MA, USA. Meehan is also with the Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; and the Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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