Effects of treadmill inclination on the gait of children with Down syndrome.
A 10 % uphill treadmill walk quickly improves hip, knee, and ankle gait mechanics in children with Down syndrome.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked kids with Down syndrome to walk on a treadmill. The belt was tilted uphill 10 %.
They filmed each child and measured hip, knee, and ankle angles while walking.
The goal was to see if the slope would make their walking pattern look more typical.
What they found
The uphill slope helped. Hip, knee, and ankle joints moved in a smoother, more typical way.
Step timing and joint angles both improved during the inclined walking.
How this fits with other research
Rigoldi et al. (2011) showed that kids with Down syndrome often walk with stiff, flat feet. The new study adds a fix: tilt the treadmill.
McGonigle et al. (2014) found one 20-minute flat treadmill bout can boost grip strength in young men. Capio et al. (2013) now shows the same 20-minute window can also fix gait if you add a 10 % incline.
Pau et al. (2012) and Whitehouse et al. (2014) linked flat feet to weak ankle push-off. Uphill walking may fight that weakness by forcing the ankle to work harder with each step.
Why it matters
You can add a 10 % incline to any clinic treadmill. One short uphill walk can give cleaner joint motion right away. Use it as a warm-up or gait drill for school-age clients with Down syndrome.
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Set the clinic treadmill to 10 % incline and run a 5-minute uphill walking warm-up before gait drills.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The goal of this study was to analyze the effects of upward treadmill inclination on the gait of children with Down syndrome (DS). Sixteen children with a mean age 8.43 ± 2.25 years, classified at level I of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and able to walk without personal assistance and/or assistive devices/orthosis were evaluated. Spatial-temporal variables were observed as well as the angular variation of hip, knee and ankle in the sagittal plane, while children walked on the treadmill carried out on 0% and 10% upward inclination. The results showed that children with DS presented changes in spatio-temporal variables (reduced cadence and increased cycle time and swing time) and in angular variables (increased hip, knee and ankle angles at initial contact; increased maximum hip flexion and maximum stance dorsiflexion; and reduced plantarflexion at pre-swing). Treadmill inclination seemed to act positively on the angular and spatio-temporal characteristics of gait in children with DS, demonstrating a possible benefit from the use of this type of surface in the gait rehabilitation of this population.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.02.014