Article

Ligamentous laxity, hypotonia and physiologic changes associated with
aging lead to gait adaptations to increase control during comfortable unperturbed
walking in adults with Down syndrome (DS). These changes appear at earlier ages
than changes associated with aging in adults with typical development (TD) [1].
Here we describe gait adaptation and stability when gait is perturbed in
relatively older adults with DS compared to their peers with TD. A
volunteer sample of 14 adults with DS and 14 adults with TD, all 35-65 years of
age, participated. METHODS: We used 3D motion analysis to capture walking
patterns at self-selected pace and in seven environmentally relevant perturbation
conditions. We tested for group differences in gait parameters and amount of
variability by condition: specifically percent stance, step width and stride
length, velocity and frequency. To quantify overall change in gait parameters and
variability from baseline to each condition, we created summative parameters of
the overall percent change from baseline to each condition for each dependent
variable. RESULTS: Adults with DS and TD made small but complex adjustments in
gait parameters and variability in response to perturbations. CONCLUSIONS:
Overall adults in both groups maintained group differences in gait patterns while
adapting well to anticipated perturbations.
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Langue : ANGLAIS