Physical Therapy Commons^™

Variability Of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters In Children With And Without Down Syndrome During Treadmill Walking, Matthew Beerse, Gena Henderson, Huaqing Liang, Toyin Ajisafe, Jianhua Wu

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Methods: Thirteen children with DS (aged 7–10 years) and thirteen age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) children participated in this study. Subjects completed two bouts of 60-second treadmill walking at two different speeds (slow and fast) and two load conditions (no load and ankle load equaling to 2% bodyweight at each side). Kinematic data was captured using a Vicon motion capture system. Mean and coefficient of variance of spatiotemporal gait variables were calculated and compared between children with and without DS.

Results and significance: Across all conditions, the DS group took shorter and wider steps than the TD group, but …

Transitioning From The Level Surface To Stairs In Children With And Without Down Syndrome: Motor Strategy And Anticipatory Locomotor Adjustments, Huaqing Liang, Xiang Ke, Jianhua Wu

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Background: Children with Down syndrome (DS) show underdeveloped motor strategy and anticipatory locomotor adjustments (ALA) before crossing an obstacle. Stairs presents another important setting to study environment navigation and motor adaptation. Inclusion of external ankle load is often used to perturb the stability of a system and observe the emergence of new patterns.

Research question: How do stair height and external ankle load affect motor strategy and ALA in 5-to-11-year-old children with typical development (TD) and with DS when approaching the stairs?

Methods: Fourteen children with DS and 14 age- and sex-matched children with TD participated in the study. They …

Transitioning From Level Surface To Stairs In Children With And Without Down Syndrome: Locomotor Adjustments During Stair Ascent, Huaqing Liang, Xiang Ke, Jianjia Wu

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

Background: Children with Down syndrome (DS) often show underdeveloped motor ability and adaptation. Stair ascent is a common task to examine locomotor function and external ankle load is often used to perturb the stability of a system and observe the emergence of new patterns.

Research question: How do stair height and external ankle load affect locomotor adjustments in 5-to-11-year-old children with typical development (TD) and with DS during stair ascent?

Methods: Fourteen children with DS and 14 age- and sex-matched children with TD participated in this study. They walked along a 5-m walkway and ascended 3-step staircases of different heights …