The effect of gait speed and gait phase to the allocation of attention during dual task gait.
Kotaro Shimizu, Hikaru Ihira, Keitaro Makino and 3 others
PMID 29581663WHAT IT FOUND
Walking slower on a treadmill made healthy young men respond more slowly to a tone.
Their walking also became less automatic. Gait phase did not change response time.
Key findings
01At 60% of preferred speed, response time was significantly delayed compared with 80% and 120% conditions.
02Walking ratio, an index of gait automaticity, decreased significantly as speed decreased.
03Response time did not differ significantly between single-support and double-support phases.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Ten healthy young men were tested, so the results may not apply to older adults or people with balance, cognitive, or neurological problems. Treadmill walking may be more automated than overground walking, so attentional demand may differ during overground walking. The cognitive task was a tone and verbal response, not real conversation. No clinical outcomes such as falls were measured. The study did not test a treatment or training programme.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this to guide fall prevention in older adults or patients with gait or cognitive problems. The study tested ten healthy young men on a treadmill, and the authors noted treadmill walking may be more automated than overground walking.