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Gait analysis in Down syndrome pediatric patients using a sheet‐type gait analyzer: Pilot study
Author(s) -
Naito Makiko,
Aoki Sayaka,
Kamide Anri,
Miyamura Kohei,
Honda Manami,
Nagai Akira,
Mezawa Hidetoshi,
Hashimoto Keiji
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/ped.12691
Subject(s) - cadence , gait , medicine , physical medicine and rehabilitation , gait analysis , sample size determination , physical therapy , statistics , mathematics
Background Children with Down syndrome (DS), who are likely to suffer from a large number of muscloskeletal problems, tend to have a unique pattern of walking in clinical settings. Despite such apparent uniqueness, few studies have empirically investigated gait development pattern in DS children, especially at an earlier age. We therefore conducted gait analysis in young DS children who are prescribed insoles, to explore how their gait patterns develop, using the gait parameters identified by Sutherland et al . as determinants of gait maturity of typical children. Methods Participants consisted of 63 DS children (31 boys) aged 1–6 years (mean, 4 years 1 month) with a diagnosis of flat feet who were prescribed orthotic insoles. A 2.4 m sheet‐type gait analyzer was used to analyze gait pattern. We measured the following variables: walking velocity (cm/min), cadence (steps/min), step length (cm), and single‐limb stance phase ratio (%), and examined their relationship with age on regression analysis. Results Walking velocity and step length were significantly and positively related to age. Cadence was also significantly, but negatively associated with age. In contrast, SLS phase ratio did not have a statistically significant relationship with age. Conclusion Down syndrome children have unique gait development patterns. Although walking velocity, cadence, and step length were found to develop with age, as in typical children, SLS phase ratio did not change with age in DS children. Further studies with a larger sample are necessary to replicate these findings.