Walking activity during daily living in children with myelomeningocele.

The study had small groups, especially 7 controls and 9 low lumbar children, so the results may not represent all children with myelomeningocele and may have missed real differences after adjustment for multiple comparisons. The low lumbar group was younger, though not significantly, which may have overestimated its walking activity. Researchers could not confirm that children wore the monitor as instructed, and no self-reported activity log was used. The study did not account for confounders such as socioeconomic access to physical therapy, balance problems, spasticity, shunt revisions, or elevated heart rate. Because it was cross-sectional, it describes activity at one time and cannot show how walking changes with growth or prove that a level causes reduced activity.

Do not conclude that all children with myelomeningocele walk less in daily life. Children with sacral or low lumbar levels had average daily step counts not significantly different from typically developing children, and the study was small and cross-sectional, so it cannot show a general effect or predict individual outcomes.