Gait Parameter Adjustments for Walking on a Treadmill at Preferred, Slower, and Faster Speeds in Older Adults with Down Syndrome (original) (raw)
Related papers
Gait adaptations in response to perturbations in adults with Down syndrome
Gait & Posture, 2010
Objectives-Ligamentous laxity, hypotonia and physiologic changes associated with aging lead to gait adaptations to increase control during comfortable unperturbed walking in adults with Down syndrome (DS). These changes appear at earlier ages than changes associated with aging in adults with typical development (TD)[1]. Here we describe gait adaptation and stability when gait is perturbed in relatively older adults with DS compared to their peers with TD.
Effects of treadmill inclination on the gait of children with Down syndrome
Research in Developmental Disabilities, 2013
Down syndrome (DS) is an encephalopathy caused by irregular cell division process that leads, among other disorders, to cognitive impairments and delayed motor development, due to neurological, physiological and biomechanical factors (Anson, 1992; Shumway-Cook & Woollacott, 1985). Biomechanical alterations, such as hypermobility, hypotony and ligament laxity are primarily responsible for the delayed acquisition of motor development milestones (Rigoldi et al., 2012). Consequently, children with DS start the sequence of acquiring motor skills (such as rolling, sitting and crawling) at later age, starting to walk, on average, one year after normal children. This in turn restricts their opportunities to interact with the environment and hinders development in the motor, social and cognitive domains (Tudella, Pereira, Basso, & Savelsbergh, 2011; Ulrich, Ulrich, Angulo-Kinzler, & Yun, 2001). Although this pathology may not progress, there are resultant physical impairments and functional limitations that can change with development. According to the dynamic systems approach, motor skills are multidimensional and emerge from interaction between several subsystems of intrinsic properties such as genetic, biomechanical and physiological
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2002
Background. Longer life expectancy is resulting in increasing numbers of elderly adults with mental retardation. In elderly adults with Down syndrome (DS), the maintenance of muscle strength, endurance, and dynamic balance are important to ensure quality of life and functional independence. The objective of this study was to compare isokinetic leg strength and dynamic balance of aged mentally retarded individuals with DS (n ϭ 16, mean age 63) before and after a treadmill walking program lasting 6 months in comparison with a nonwalking control group (n ϭ 10) with similar physical characteristics. Methods. Participants in the study undertook leg strength testing on a dynamometer. Parameters measured included peak torque, peak torque % body weight, and average power % body weight. A "timed get-up and go" functional test for dynamic balance was also analyzed and compared prior to and after the treadmill program. Results. Knee extension and flexion isokinetic strength in elderly individuals with DS showed significant improvement after 6 months of treadmill training. Dynamic balance performance was also significantly improved (p Ͻ .05). Conclusions. Aged adults with DS can significantly improve muscle strength and balance by adopting suitable programs of treadmill walking.
Walking dynamics in preadolescents with and without Down syndrome
Background. A force-driven harmonic oscillator (FDHO) model reveals the elastic property of general muscular activity during walking. Objective. This study aimed to investigate whether children with Down syndrome (DS) have a lower K/G ratio, a primary variable derived from the FDHO model, compared with children with typical development during overground and treadmill walking and whether children with DS can adapt the K/G ratio to walking speeds, external ankle load, and a treadmill setting. Design. A cross-sectional study design was used that included 26 children with and without DS, aged 7 to 10 years, for overground walking and 20 of them for treadmill walking in a laboratory setting. Methods. During overground walking, participants walked at 2 speeds: normal and fastest speed. During treadmill walking, participants walked at 75% and 100% of their preferred overground speed. Two load conditions were manipulated for both overground and treadmill walking: no load and an ankle load that was equal to 2% of body mass on each side. Results. Children with DS showed a K/G ratio similar to that of their healthy peers and increased this ratio with walking speed regardless of ankle load during overground walking. Children with DS produced a lower K/G ratio at the fast speed of treadmill walking without ankle load, but ankle load helped them produce a K/G ratio similar to that of their healthy peers. Limitations. The FDHO model cannot specify what muscles are used or how muscles are coordinated for a given motor task. Conclusions. Children with DS show elastic property of general muscular activity similar to their healthy peers during overground walking. External ankle load helps children with DS increase general muscular activity and match their healthy peers while walking fast on a treadmill.
Gait & Posture, 2008
This longitudinal study investigated the long-term effect of different treadmill interventions on the development of gait patterns in infants with Down syndrome (DS). Thirty infants with DS (mean age 10.0 months, S.D. 1.9 months) were randomly assigned to either a ''low intensity-generalized'' (LG) training group, or a ''high intensity-individualized'' (HI) training group. Treadmill intervention was conducted in infants' homes until they walked three steps independently. Twenty-five participants completed a 1-year gait follow-up after the treadmill intervention. Six basic gait parameters were examined: normalized velocity, cadence, step length, step width, double support percentage, and dynamic base. Principal component analysis (PCA) conducted for the set of the six basic gait parameters demonstrated that the first principal component (PC1) accounted for 83.8% of the variance. A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures conducted with PC1 scores revealed a significant visit effect and group difference; both groups significantly increased PC1 scores over time, and the HI group produced significantly higher PC1 scores than the LG group. Specifically, the HI group produced significantly higher normalized velocity and cadence, and lower double support percentage than the LG group. In addition, both groups significantly reduced foot rotation asymmetry over time although no difference was found between the two groups. We concluded that the HI treadmill intervention provided a better long-term effect on the development of basic gait parameters than the LG training, and the reduction of foot rotation asymmetry over time was not differentially affected by the different training protocols. #
Changes in Step Variability of New Walkers With Typical Development and With Down Syndrome
Journal of Motor Behavior, 2006
Models of human gait are based on adult locomotion. C. E. Bauby and A. D. Kuo (2000) proposed that adults rely on passive mechanisms at the spinal level to control motion in the anteroposterior direction and rely on direct monitoring of postural control in the lateral direction. The authors' purpose in this study was to determine if that model applies to control at the onset of walking in typically developing toddlers (n = 9) and in toddlers with Down syndrome (n = 6). Their longitudinal data suggested that toddlers control gait in a distinctly different manner than adults do. An adult pattern of control emerges with experience. In addition, the effect of experience on the emergence of that pattern is magnified by task-specific early intervention. The present data support the emergence and discovery of efficient patterns of control in this fundamental human behavior.