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The Influence Of Divided Attention On Walking Turns: Effects On Gait Control In Young Adults With And Without A History Of Low Back Pain, Jo Armour Smith, James Gordon, Kornelia Kulig

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

The cognitive control of gait is altered in individuals with low back pain, but it is unclear if this alteration persists between painful episodes. Locomotor perturbations such as walking turns may provide a sensitive measure of gait adaptation during divided attention in young adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in gait during turns performed with divided attention, and to compare healthy young adults with asymptomatic individuals who have a history of recurrent low back pain (rLBP). Twenty-eight participants performed 90° ipsilateral walking turns at a controlled speed of 1.5 m/s. During the divided attention condition they …