Head stability in walking in children with cerebral palsy and in children and adults without neurological impairment.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The location of several sensory systems in the head implies that maintenance of head stability may be a potentially important part of locomotor activity. A limited amount of research, however, has been conducted to measure stability or to compare head stability among different groups. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a method for measuring head stability during walking could differentiate among 3 groups (1) children with cerebral palsy, (2) children without neurological impairment, and (3) adults without neurological impairment. SUBJECTS: Eight adults without known neurological impairment, 6 children without known neurological impairment, and 6 children with cerebral palsy and mild spastic hemiplegia were compared. METHODS: Subjects walked on a treadmill at their preferred speed at a number of frequencies. Head stability was characterized by fluctuations in period and amplitude of head motion in the sagittal plane across walking cycles. RESULTS: Mean period fluctuation was lower for the adults than for the children, and it was lower for the children without neurological impairments than for the children with cerebral palsy. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: The method can be used to differentiate head stability among different groups during functional activities.