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Published on: April 18, 2011
Quantification of energy expenditure during gait in children affected by cerebral palsy
L Piccinini1, V Cimolin, M Galli
1RCCS Medea La Nostra Famiglia, Bosisio Parini (LC), Italy.
Insights
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) exhibit inefficient walking due to abnormal muscle activity, leading to higher energy expenditure during gait. This study quantifies this increased energy cost in children with CP compared to healthy peers.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanical analysis
- Pediatric physical therapy
- Neuromuscular disorders
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) often involves gait abnormalities.
- These gait issues can lead to increased energy expenditure and reduced efficiency during walking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify and compare the energy cost of walking in children with CP versus healthy children.
- To identify key parameters that characterize energy expenditure differences in CP gait.
Main Methods:
- Oxygen expenditure during walking was measured in 20 children with CP and 20 healthy children using Cosmed K4b2.
- Key parameters including heart rate, energy expenditure index, oxygen consumption, and oxygen cost were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Heart rate and oxygen consumption did not significantly differ between groups.
- Energy expenditure index and oxygen cost were significantly higher in children with CP, indicating greater energy cost during gait.
Conclusions:
- Children with CP demonstrate significantly higher energy expenditure during walking compared to healthy controls.
- This inefficiency is likely linked to co-contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles in CP gait.
Aim:
Children affected by cerebral palsy (CP) are generally characterised by some movement limitations and abnormalities that compromised gait pattern. These disabilities during deambulation may lead to excessive energy cost and so to a compromised energy efficiency.
Methods:
In this study oxygen expenditure was evaluated during walking in 20 children affected by CP and in 20 healthy children, using Cosmed K4b2 (Cosmed, Italy). From obtained data about energy consumption, some parameters (heart rate, energy expenditure index, oxygen consumption, oxygen cost) were extracted, first in order to quantify energy cost during gait in pathological and healthy subjects and then to underline differences between the 2 groups of children.
Results:
In particular, the results obtained revealed that heart rate (bpm) and oxygen consumption (mL/kg/min) mean values didn't differ significantly between normal subjects and those with CP; instead, energy expenditure index (b/m) and oxygen cost (mL/kg/m) presented higher mean values rather than control group at a statistically level and so they revealed to be significant parameters, in order characterized energy expenditure in children affected by CP.
Conclusions:
This inefficiency characteristic of CP deambulation is probably directly connected to the presence of simultaneous contraction of agonist and antagonist muscle in these patients.
