Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026
Clinical-oriented Three-dimensional Gait Analysis Method for Evaluating Gait Disorder
Published on: March 4, 2018
Gait analysis of children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy
1Department of Human Sports Science, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang 110102, Liaoning Province, China.
Insights
Children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy exhibit distinct gait characteristics, including slower walking speed and altered joint angles, compared to healthy peers. These findings highlight motor coordination challenges in pediatric cerebral palsy.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Pediatric Neurology
- Movement Science
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting motor function.
- Spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP) specifically impacts one side of the body.
- Understanding gait deviations in children with HCP is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare gait characteristics between healthy children and children with spastic HCP.
- To identify specific kinematic differences during walking.
- To provide a basis for functional assessment and rehabilitation strategies.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 200 healthy children and 20 children with spastic HCP (aged 3-6 years).
- Gait data collected using simultaneous digital camera recordings.
- Kinematic analysis performed using DV-Tracker software.
Main Results:
- Children with HCP demonstrated a longer gait cycle and slower walking speed.
- The support phase of the gait cycle was significantly longer in children with HCP.
- Significant differences were observed in hip, knee, and ankle joint angles during key gait events (ground contact, buffering, pedal extension).
- Children with HCP exhibited poor motor coordination, characterized by short strides, high stride frequency, increased limb swing, and reduced stability.
Conclusions:
- Children with spastic HCP present with significant gait abnormalities compared to healthy children.
- These gait deviations reflect underlying motor control deficits and impact walking efficiency and stability.
- The findings underscore the need for specialized gait analysis and therapeutic approaches for children with HCP.
Abstract:
An experiment was carried out in the key laboratory for Technique Diagnosis and Function Assessment of Winter Sports of China to investigate the differences in gait characteristics between healthy children and children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy. With permission of their parents, 200 healthy children aged 3 to 6 years in the kindergarten of Northeastern University were enrolled in this experiment. Twenty children aged 3 to 6 years with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy from Shengjing Hospital, China were also enrolled in this experiment. Standard data were collected by simultaneously recording gait information from two digital cameras. DVracker was used to analyze the standard data. The children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy had a longer gait cycle, slower walking speed, and longer support phase than did the healthy children. The support phase was longer than the swing phase in the children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. There were significant differences in the angles of the hip, knee, and ankle joint between children with cerebral palsy and healthy children at the moment of touching the ground and buffering, and during pedal extension. Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy had poor motor coordination during walking, which basically resulted in a short stride, high stride frequency to maintain speed, more obvious swing, and poor stability.
