Relationships between motor function and gait-related dual-task interference after stroke: a pilot study
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Updated: May 28, 2026
Motor Dual-Tasks for Gait Analysis and Evaluation in Post-Stroke Patients
Published on: March 11, 2021
Prudence Plummer-D'Amato1, Lori J P Altmann
1Department of Physical Therapy, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, 6 Robinson Hall, Boston, MA 02115-5000, USA. pplummer@neu.edu
Abstract:
The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the relationships between motor performance measures and dual-task interference in gait among community-dwelling adults with stroke. Dual-task costs on gait were correlated with Fugl-Meyer lower extremity score and usual gait speed in 13 community-dwelling adults with stroke. Individuals with greater lower extremity motor impairment and slower gait speed experienced greater cognitive-motor interference in gait. Paretic single limb stance was particularly susceptible to dual-task interference. Gait speed was only vulnerable to dual-task interference in the most complex dual-task. Thus, global characteristics of gait were vulnerable in the most difficult cognitive tasks, but even easy tasks impaired discrete components of dynamic balance.
