Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2014;36(15):1279-84.
doi: 10.3109/09638288.2013.845254. Epub 2013 Oct 25.

Walking activity patterns in youth with cerebral palsy and youth developing typically

Kristie F Bjornson  1 , Chuan Zhou, Richard Stevenson, Dimitri Christakis, Kit Song
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Walking activity patterns in youth with cerebral palsy and youth developing typically

Kristie F Bjornson et al. Disabil Rehabil. 2014.

Abstract

Purpose: To describe daily walking stride rate patterns of young children with cerebral palsy (CP) as compared to a typically developing youth (TDY) cohort relative to age and functional level.

Method: A cross-sectional comparison cohort study compared 209 youth with CP with 368 TDY aged 2-13 years. Youth with CP had Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I-III with 60% bilateral involvement and 79% spastic. Five days of StepWatch data were averaged and classified into low, moderate and high stride rates. Group differences were examined by t-test and analysis of variance.

Results: Children with CP walk significantly less each day than TDY (F = 245, p ≤ 0.001) and differ by GMFCS (F = 1.51, p < 0.001). TDY walk a similar number of strides in low and moderate stride rates each day while youth with CP do not. TDY attained high stride rates (>60 strides/min) for 8 min/d with levels I-III at 4.0, 3.2 and 0.53 min/d, respectively.

Conclusions: The relative relationship of walking intensity levels within total daily stride activity differs for youth with CP as compared to TDY. The influence of functional walking ability on walking stride activity levels and intensity does not appear to differ significantly across age groups.

Implications for rehabilitation: Limitation in the ability to attain moderate stride-rate intensity, regardless of total number of strides taken each day for ambulatory youth with CP, is a potential area of focus for intervention. Understanding of stride activity levels and intensity in youth with CP may be employed to focus rehabilitation strategies to enhance habitual walking activity. Community-based stride rate data has potential as an effectiveness outcome for rehabilitation strategies focused on walking (i.e. orthopedic surgery, orthoses and injections therapies).

Keywords: Cerebral palsy; stride rates; walking activity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant sources for comparison cohorts of typically developing youth (TDY) and youth with cerebral palsy (CP).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Average number of strides spent at low, moderate and high stride rates for typically developing youth (TDY) and youth with cerebral palsy by Gross Motor Function Classification level (GMFCS 1–3). Low = 1–30 strides/min, moderate = 31–60 strides/min and high = >60 strides/min.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Average number of min/d spent at low, moderate and high stride rates for typically developing youth (TDY) and youth with cerebral palsy by Gross Motor Function Classification level (GMFCS 1–3). Low = 1–30 strides/min, moderate = 31–60 strides/min and high = >60 strides/min. One day (24 h) = 1440 min.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Yeargin-Allsopp M, Van Naarden K, Dorenberg NS, et al. Prevalence of cerebral paly in 8-year-old children in three areas of the United States in 2002: a multisite collaboration. Pediatrics. 2008;121:547–554. - PubMed
    1. Carlon SL, Taylor NF, Dodd KJ, Shields N. Differences in habitual physical activity levels of young people with cerebral palsy and their typically developing peers: a systematic review. Disabil Rehabil. 2013;35:647–655. - PubMed
    1. Colver AF. The definition and classification of cerebral palsy. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2007;49:15–16. - PubMed
    1. Gage JR. Gait analysis in cerebral palsy. London: MacKeith Press; 1991.
    1. Sutherland DH, Sussman MD. The diplegic child. Chicago: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons; 1992. Outcome assessment in cerebral palsy: has walking improved? pp. 133–144.

Publication types

MeSH terms