Gait patterns in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

Previous research has shown that adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) show increased variability of foot placement measures and movement of the centre of mass (CoM) while walking. The current study considered the gait patterns of young and older children with DCD. Fourteen young children with DCD (7-12 years), 15 older children with DCD (12-17 years) and 29 age- and gender-matched typically developing children took part. Children were asked to walk up and down a flat 10-m-long pathway for 1 min, while the movement of their feet and trunk was recorded using motion analysis. The gait pattern of children with DCD was characterised by wider steps, elevated variability in the time spent in double support and stride time and greater medio-lateral velocity and acceleration compared to their peers. An elevated variability in medio-lateral acceleration was also seen in the young but not the older children with DCD. In addition, the young children showed a greater variability in velocity and acceleration in all three directions compared to the older children. The data suggest that the high incidence of trips and falls seen in children with DCD may be due to differences in the control of the CoM.

Cognitive and neuroimaging findings in developmental coordination disorder: new insights from a systematic review of recent research

“…Six articles examined gait patterns in DCD, five of these in children and one in adults (Table SV). Two studies characterized walking patterns in DCD . Wilmut et al showed that children with DCD had wider normalized steps and higher variability in double support time and stride time.…”

“…Two studies characterized walking patterns in DCD . Wilmut et al showed that children with DCD had wider normalized steps and higher variability in double support time and stride time. A similar pattern was observed for adults …”

Moving from laboratory to real life conditions: Influence on the assessment of variability and stability of gait

“…According to the above mentioned concepts of variability and stability, variability indexes, usually applied on stride time data, are meant to assess changes in the peripheral realization of the gait pattern [7,8,13,14], whereas stability indexes, usually applied on trunk acceleration data, are meant to assess the stability of the trajectory of the centre of mass. Indeed, recent studies [13,15,16], analysing both healthy (from 4 years-old children to 25 years-old young adults) and pathological subjects (stroke), analysed the role of the variability in joint kinematics in determining a successful control of the stability of the centre of mass trajectory, approximated by the lower trunk [7,17,18]. Stride time and trunk acceleration data are two manifestations of the same control system in healthy and pathologic subjects [19,20].…”

Using a mouse model to gain insights into developmental coordination disorder

“…Children and adults with DCD have been noted to have different gait patterns from individuals without DCD, including an awkward gait and frequent stumbling or bumping into objects in their path . Evidence on the gait patterns of children with DCD suggests that they have poor head control, uncoordinated limb to limb transitions, increased step width, and increased time in double support in order to increase base of support and maintain dynamic balance .…”