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The effect of different types of walking on dual-task performance and task prioritization among community-dwelling
Maayan Agmon1, Einat Kodesh2, Rachel Kizony3
1Department of Nursing, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905 Haifa, Israel.
Background:
The ability to safely conduct different types of walking concurrently with a cognitive task (i.e., dual task) is crucial for daily life. The contribution of different walking types to dual-task performance has not yet been determined, nor is there agreement on the strategies that older adults use to divide their attention between two tasks (task prioritization).
Objectives:
To compare the effect of walking in three different directions (forward, backward, and sideways) on dual-task performance and to explore the strategies of older adults to allocate their attention in response to different motor task demands.
Design:
A cross-sectional study.
Subjects:
Thirty-two (22 female) community-dwelling older adults (aged 72.7±5.7 years).
Methods:
Subjects randomly conducted single and dual task: walking to three directions separately, cognitive tasks separately, and combination of the two.
Results:
Walking forward was the least demanding task, during single (FW < BW, SW) (P < .001) and dual tasks (FW < BW < SW) (P < .001). The calculation of DTC revealed the same pattern (P < .001). DTC of the cognitive tasks was not significantly different among the three walking types.
Conclusions:
The decline mainly in the motor performance during dual task indicates that participants prioritized the cognitive task. These findings challenge the "posture first" paradigm for task prioritization.
