Increased Auditory Dual Task Cost During Gait Initiation in Adult Patients With Persistent Concussion Symptoms.
Kelsey N Bryk, Scott Passalugo, Li- Shan Chou and 4 others
PMID 39187006WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with persistent concussion symptoms showed greater dual-task cost during gait initiation than healthy controls.
They reduced forward and lateral movement when adding a cognitive task, suggesting they prioritize hearing over balance. This may increase fall risk in noisy environments.
Key findings
01Patients with persistent concussion symptoms had significantly worse dual-task cost for anterior-posterior displacement and medial-lateral velocity during gait initiation compared to controls.
02The group with symptoms showed greater dual-task cost for center of pressure and center of mass separation, indicating a more conservative strategy to maintain stability.
03There was no significant difference between groups in the dual-task cost for the auditory cognitive task itself.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Small sample size (15 PCS participants) and lack of male participants in the PCS group prevented analysis of sex differences. Wide range of symptom duration (110 to 1,315 days) and burden limits generalizability. No pre-injury baseline data was available for comparison. PCS diagnostic criteria remain controversial and were based on provider referral and self-reported symptoms.
Declared interests
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural. No other conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that poor dual-task gait performance in this population is due to a general cognitive deficit. The study found no difference in cognitive task performance between groups, suggesting the issue is specifically how attention is allocated between balance and hearing during movement initiation.