Dual task cost in adults with persistent concussion symptoms.
Kelsey N Bryk, Scott Passalugo, Li-Shan Chou and 4 others
PMID 36796161WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with persistent concussion symptoms walked slower than matched controls during cognitive tasks.
Their working-memory accuracy changed differently when walking and thinking at the same time, while Visual Stroop and verbal fluency accuracy did not differ.
Key findings
01Dual-task gait speed and step length costs differed between groups, and persistent concussion participants walked slower during all three cognitive tasks.
02Dual-task working memory accuracy cost differed between groups, while Visual Stroop accuracy and verbal fluency word totals did not.
03Symptom burden did not predict gait speed dual-task cost in the persistent concussion group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 15 adults with persistent concussion symptoms were tested, so the findings may be unstable. The study could not separate effects of sex or age. All participants were independently mobile without restriction, so it says little about people with more severe mobility problems. No treatment was given, so the study cannot show what intervention helps. Recruitment was partly limited by COVID-19 restrictions, although the authors reported no differences between pre-pandemic and pandemic participants in exploratory analysis.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these gait differences as evidence that a treatment works. The study compared existing groups, not interventions, and only 15 people with persistent symptoms were tested.