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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of dual task (DT) conditions on mobility following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
DESIGN: Eleven adults with mTBI within 1 week of injury and 10 age and sex matched healthy controls completed gait trials with a single task condition and 3 separate DT conditions: counting by 1 (low), serial subtraction by 3 (medium), and alternating letters and numbers (high). Dual task cost (DTC) was calculated as DTC = ([Dual task performance] - [Single task performance]) / [Single task performance] x 100%.
RESULTS: Participants with mTBI ambulated slower than control subjects (p-value <0.001). Significant differences in DTC were noted for both group (p-value <0.001) and dual task condition (p-value 0.005). DTC was greater for those with mTBI compared with controls with significant group differences for the low and high cognitive loads (p-value <0.05). Only 1/11 individuals with mTBI and 1/10 controls demonstrated gait speed <80 cm/s, which is predictive of community mobility, during any DT condition. DTC exceeded 11.9%, previously determined to be the minimal detectable change in healthy adults, for 9/11 individuals with mTBI compared with 3/10 controls.
CONCLUSION: DTC may be a more sensitive measure for impairment during DT conditions than gait speed following mTBI.
Language: en |