Spatiotemporal Parameters of Gait Among Adolescent Athletes with Concussion When Performing a Visuospatial Cognitive Task.
Leah Lowe, Fernando Castillo, Melissa Allen and 2 others
PMID 37020449WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescent athletes with concussion showed varied gait deficits during a dual-task test.
Females in the acute phase had high rates of abnormal dual-task cost, while males showed fewer. Chronic cases still displayed deficits in some individuals, suggesting symptom resolution alone may not ensure safe return to play.
Key findings
01Twenty percent of male and 83% of female acute assessments demonstrated a dual-task cost greater than one standard deviation compared to healthy peers.
02Ten percent of male and 29% of female chronic assessments demonstrated a dual-task cost greater than one standard deviation compared to healthy peers.
03No two athletes in the sample demonstrated the same compensatory strategies or deficits during single- and dual-task gait.
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 was small (29 participants) and recruited from a single clinic, limiting generalizability. The GAITRite system is expensive and not readily available in most clinical settings. Not all participants were assessed longitudinally; some contributed only one or two data points. The visuospatial task difficulty was not customized to individual cognitive capacity. The study lacked a concurrent healthy control group, relying instead on published reference values.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by a NIGMS IDeA Program award.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a patient who has resolved their symptoms has normal gait mechanics. The study found that some athletes classified as chronic still had abnormal dual-task costs, and deficits varied significantly by sex and individual.