Tandem Gait Center Of Pressure Following Sport-related Concussion

Abstract

Tandem gait is becoming a widely used sideline tool to evaluate dynamic postural control following sport-related concussion (SRC). Little to no research has evaluated tandem gait center of pressure (COP) following SRC compared to the traditional temporal characteristics. PURPOSE: Compare the differences from baseline to acute SRC post-injury using temporal and COP metrics in tandem gait. METHODS: 8 NCAA Division 1 athletes (age = 20 ± 1 years) performed tandem gait prior to their competitive season (PRE) and within 24-48 hours post-injury (POST) using an instrumented walkway (30 Hz, Tekscan Strideway, Tekscan Inc., South Boston, MA). The head team physician independently verified and diagnosed the SRC. During tandem gait, student-athletes were instructed to walk 3-meters, turning en pointe, and returning to the start position walking heel-to-toe as fast as possible. Three randomized trials of single-task (ST) and dual-task (DT) were completed and the raw center of force from the Strideway was exported and further analyzed. COP excursion in the mediolateral (ML) and mean velocity in the anteroposterior (AP and ML directions were calculated using a custom MATLAB code along with time to completion were evaluated during the entire trial. Multiple RM ANOVAs compare the baseline to post-injury tandem gait. RESULTS: There were no significant differences for ST ML excursion (PRE = 2.78 ± 0.47, POST = 3.61 ± 1.9; p = 0.25), for ST ML velocity (PRE = 16.57 ± 4.38, POST = 22.83 ± 17.68; p = 0.30), for ST AP velocity (PRE = 82.15 ± 16.12, POST = 107.82 ± 64.29; p = 0.196), and for ST time (PRE = 9.9 ± 1.81, POST = 11.82 ± 3.45; p = 0.62). CONCLUSION: The results indicate there are no significant differences between PRE and POST SRC. Although the data does not show any significant difference between times, SRC does generally slow an individual’s velocity thus suggesting a causal relationship exists.