Article

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) often have difficulties
running. This study compared strategies of propulsion and power generation at the
ankle during late stance / early swing in both walking and running in children with
and without DCD. Eleven children (six male) aged nine to 12 years with DCD were
matched by sex and age with 11 typically developing (TD) children. Gait
kinematics and kinetics were measured during 4 gait types; normal walking, fast
walking, jogging and sprinting using three-dimensional motion analysis.
Propulsion strategy during gait was calculated as ankle power divided by the sum
of ankle and hip power (A2/A2+H3). The children with DCD ran slower than the TD
children (mean difference [MD] when jogging 0.3m/s and sprinting 0.8m/s).
Adjusting for speed, those with DCD had smaller propulsion strategy values during
jogging (p=0.001) and sprinting (p=0.012), explained by reduced ankle power
generation at push off (A2) (jogging, MD 2.5 W/kg, p<0.001) and greater hip
flexor power generation at pull off (H3) (jogging, MD 0.75 W/kg, p=0.013).
Similar findings were observed during sprinting.
Children with DCD ran with a
slow and less efficient running style compared with TD children. Physiotherapy
targeting running-specific needs in relation to ankle muscle strength and
coordination could enable more participation in running activities.
CI - Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS