BACKGROUND gait variability may be an important predictor of falls risk, but its characteristics are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE to examine the relationship between age and gait variability in a population-based sample of older people. DESIGN cross-sectional study. METHODS in people aged 60-86 years (n = 412), temporal and spatial gait variability measures were recorded with a GAITRite w...

Background. There have been many studies on partial weight support walking training. However, most studies have been performed in treadmill settings, not in actual walking environments. Objectives. This study aimed to investigate the effect of partial weight support ground walking training on the temporal and spatial gait parameters of chronic stroke patients. Methods. This study was designed...

BACKGROUND Downbeat nystagmus (DBN) is a common form of acquired fixation nystagmus with key symptoms of oscillopsia and gait disturbance. Gait disturbance could be a result of impaired visual feedback due to the involuntary ocular oscillations. Alternatively, a malfunction of cerebellar locomotor control might be involved, since DBN is considered a vestibulocerebellar disorder. METHODS Inves...

BACKGROUND Spinal cord injury patients walk with a flexed trunk when using reciprocating gait orthoses. Reduction of trunk flexion during ambulation may produce an improvement in gait parameters for reciprocating gait orthosis users. OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect on kinematics and temporal-spatial parameters when spinal cord injury patients ambulate with an advanced reciprocating gait ...

By comparing treadmill walking in hemiparetic and non-disabled individuals at matched speeds, Chen et al. [Chen G, Patten C, Kothari DH, Zajac FE. Gait differences between individuals with post-stroke hemiparesis and non-disabled controls at matched speeds. Gait Posture (2004)] identified gait deviations that were consistent with impaired swing initiation and single limb support in the paretic ...

Gait Velocity and Community Ambulation: the Limits of Assessment To the Editor: The contention by Schmid and colleagues1 that gait velocity, measured over 10 months, is sufficient as a single measure of community ambulation is not supported by the results of their study. Rather, their data supports earlier research showing that gait speed predicts functional mobility and social participation,2,...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Older adults with dementia have at least a twofold increased risk of falls. Multi-factorial interventions have failed to demonstrate a reduction in falls in this group. Improved understanding of specific cognitive factors and their relationship to gait, balance and falls is required. METHODS Systematic searches of Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, and CINAHL databases from ince...

OBJECTIVES Cognitive processing plays an important role in balance and gait and is a contributing factor to falls in older adults. This relationship may be explained by the fact that higher order cognitive functions such as executive functions are called upon while walking. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a cognitive training intervention leads to significant improvements on me...

To investigate the effects of a cell phone texting task on an individual's ability to perform three ambulation-based tasks, each with different and progressively more difficult demands. 36 participants (24 male/12 female, average age 23.4) performed: a Timed Up & Go (TUG), stair ambulation (STAIR), and tandem gait (TAN). Participants completed each gait-based task under four conditions: as a pr...