Gait pattern differences in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.
Kids with unilateral CP fall into two gait camps—those who fight gravity need closer orthotic and strength follow-up.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team watched how kids with unilateral cerebral palsy walk.
They used motion cameras and force plates in a gait lab.
Computer clustering then sorted each child into one of two walking styles.
What they found
One style works with gravity. The other fights it.
The anti-gravity group showed bigger gaps from normal walking.
These gaps showed up in joint angles and step timing.
How this fits with other research
Capio et al. (2013) also filmed kids with CP and found most were unstable.
They used a quick foot-placement ruler instead of full clustering.
Together the papers say: watch gait, but pick your tool.
Lemons et al. (2015) gave a simple balance test that takes two minutes.
Their test is handy for clinic rooms without cameras.
Use it when you can’t get to a lab.
Why it matters
You can spot the anti-gravity pattern just by looking for stiff hip hiking or toe dragging.
Mark these kids for tighter orthotic checks and strength work.
No lab? Pair the Four Square Step Test with a slow-motion phone video.
This gives you a cheap screen that still guides goals.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often have atypical body posture patterns and abnormal gait patterns resulting from functional strategies to compensate for primary anomalies that are directly attributable to damage to the central nervous system. Our previous study revealed two different postural patterns in children with unilateral CP: (1) a pattern with overloading of the affected body side and (2) a pattern with under-loading of the affected side. The purpose of present study was to test whether different gait patterns dependent on weight distribution between the affected and unaffected body sides could be detected in these children. The study included 45 outpatients with unilateral CP and 51 children with mild scoliosis (reference group). The examination consisted of two inter-related parts: paedobarographic measurements of the body mass distribution between the body sides and three-dimensional instrumented gait analysis. Using cluster analysis based on the Gillette Gait Index (GGI) values, three gait patterns were described: a scoliotic gait pattern and two hemiplegic gait patterns, corresponding to overloading/under-loading of the hemi-side, which are the pro-gravitational gait pattern (PGP) and the anti-gravitational gait pattern (AGP), respectively. The results of this study showed that subjects with AGP presented a higher degree of deviation from the normal gait than children with PGP. This proof that there are differences in the GGI between the AGP and PGP could be a starting point to identify kinematic differences between these gaits in a follow-up study.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.05.020