Mind your step: Target walking task reveals gait disturbance in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury.
Freschta Mohammadzada, Carl Moritz Zipser, Chris A Easthope and 4 others
PMID 35337335WHAT IT FOUND
People with incomplete spinal cord injury could step onto moving targets but moved their body center less smoothly than controls.
Their ability to adapt worsened with higher injury levels, linking this lab task to real-world walking limitations.
Key findings
01Individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury showed less reduction in center of mass movement during the target task compared to healthy controls, indicating impaired gait adaptability.
02The ability to adapt gait during the target task correlated with the level of spinal injury, with cervical injuries showing poorer adaptation than thoracic or lumbar injuries.
03Center of mass movement during the target task correlated with the Spinal Cord Independence Measure outdoor mobility score, suggesting the task reflects community walking ability.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (13 patients, 12 controls), limiting generalizability. Controls were not age-matched (median age 27 vs 58), and age affects gait stability. Walking speeds were not matched between groups. Three patients used handrails during the task, which may have influenced center of mass measurements. The study was a single session, so test-retest reliability of the task is unknown.
Declared interests
The paper does not list specific funding sources or conflicts of interest in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this target walking task is a validated clinical assessment. It is a preliminary diagnostic study using a small, non-age-matched sample. The task's reliability and sensitivity have not yet been established for routine use.