Distracted Kids Walk Slower

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Do Gait rehab on Kids?

Distracted kids walk slower and spend more time in double leg stance.

We know it can effect adults, usually resulting a mild decomposition of gait, by decreasing step length in many and slowing of gait in older folks (becoming more primitive).

Watch where you do your gait rehab in the younger set; keep them focused and engaged for better outcomes.

"Significant main effects of walking experience groupand visual distraction condition were found. Visual environmental distraction significantly affected gait performance in children regardless of walking experience. Velocity decreased from 110.04 to 97.73 cm/sec (p = 0.003) while double limb stance % of gait cycle increased from 18.29% to 20.39% (p = 0.025)."

Phys Occup Ther Pediatr. 2017 Apr 10:1-10. doi: 10.1080/01942638.2017.1297987. [Epub ahead of print]
The Effect of Visual Environmental Distraction on Gait Performance in Children.
Bizama F, Medley A, Trudelle-Jackson E, Csiza L.

J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2014 Apr 28;11:74. doi: 10.1186/1743-0003-11-74.
Effect of explicit visual feedback distortion on human gait.
Kim SJ, Mugisha D.

Curr Gerontol Geriatr Res. 2011;2011:651718. doi: 10.1155/2011/651718. Epub 2011 Jun 16.
Effects of a Visual Distracter Task on the Gait of Elderly versus Young Persons.
Bock O, Beurskens R.