TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Adolescents demonstrate greater gait balance control deficits after concussion than young adults
JO  - American journal of sports medicine
A1  - Howell, David R.
A1  - Osternig, Louis R.
A1  - Chou, Li-Shan
SP  - 625
EP  - 632
VL  - 43
IS  - 3
N2  - BACKGROUND: Age has been described as a factor that affects recovery after concussion. The recommended management protocol is to treat adolescents in a more cautious manner than adults. However, few studies have prospectively and longitudinally assessed the way these age groups perform on motor tasks after concussion. <br><br>PURPOSE: To examine dual-task gait balance control deficits after concussion in a group of adolescents and young adults in reference to matched control subjects within 72 hours of injury and throughout 2 months after injury. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. <br><br>METHODS: Adolescents and young adults who sustained a concussion and individually matched controls completed a whole-body motion gait analysis while simultaneously performing a cognitive task. Subjects with concussion reported to the laboratory within 72 hours after injury and at the following time points: 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months after injury. Control subjects completed the same protocol at similar time points. Gait balance control measurements included whole-body center-of-mass (COM) medial-lateral displacement/velocity and anterior velocity. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 38 subjects with concussion, 19 young adults (mean ± SD age, 20.3 ± 2.4 years) and 19 adolescents (mean ± SD age, 15.1 ± 1.1 years), and 38 individually matched control subjects were tested. Within 72 hours of injury, adolescents displayed significantly greater COM medial-lateral displacement (P =.001) and peak velocity (P =.001) relative to their control group, and the young adult concussion group displayed significantly less peak COM anterior velocity than their control group (P =.01). Across the 2 months of testing, adolescents with concussion displayed significantly greater total COM medial-lateral displacement than did adolescent controls (P =.001), while young adults with concussion did not significantly differ from their matched controls (P =.07). <br><br>CONCLUSION: An examination of gait balance control during dual-task walking revealed that after concussion, in reference to matched controls, adolescents demonstrated greater gait balance control deficits than did young adults initially and throughout the 2-month postinjury period, supporting the recommendation of conservative management for adolescents after concussion.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0363-5465
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0363546514560994
ID  - ref1
ER  -