Influence of different tasks on gait characteristics and task cost in early childhood / 中国康复理论与实践

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo investigate the influence of interference tasks and age on gait characteristics and task costs of children aged three to eight years. MethodsFrom April to August, 2021, 200 children from a kindergarten and primary school in Cangzhou, Hebei were enrolled to collect gait spatiotemporal parameters and kinematics data with infrared motion capture system; ground reaction force was collected with the Kistler force platform and simulated with Anybody 7.0, as walking naturally (standard gait), answering question (cognitive gait) and crossing obstacle (obstacle-crossing gait). ResultsA total of 182 children finished the test. The main effect of task was significant on spatiotemporal parameters (F > 5.167, P < 0.01), as well as age (F > 2.321, P < 0.05), except on stride width and speed; while the interaction effect of task and age was significant on double stance phase, single stance phase and step length (F > 3.040, P < 0.01). The main effect of task was significant on kinematics data (F > 83.019, P < 0.001), as well as age (F > 2.359, P < 0.05), except on range of motion of knee and maximum angular velocity of ankle; while the interaction effect of task and age was significant (F > 2.066, P < 0.05), except on range of motion of hip. The main effect of task and age was significant on kinetic parameters (F > 4.032, P < 0.05); while the interaction effect of task and age was significant (F > 2.189, P < 0.05), except on the strength of medial soleus, lateral gastrocnemius, medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior. The coefficient of variation was the most for cognitive gait, and then for the obstacle-crossing gait and standard gait. The main effect of task and age was significant on the cost of task for stride length and speed (F > 3.368, P < 0.01), while the interaction effect was not significant. ConclusionGait of early childhood is influenced by interference tasks and age. Under interference tasks, gait cycle increases, while single stance phase, stride length, frequency and speed decrease; and task costs increase, and overall gait stability decrease. Cognitive tasks impact on gait greater than obstacle crossing, which may be due to the higher costs of tasks. In terms of age, gait exhibits a non-linear age trend.