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Changes in Gait and Texting Ability During Progressively Difficult Gait Tasks.

Andrew J Strubhar1, Brody Rapp1, Dillon Thomas1

  • 1Department of Physical Therapy and Health Science, Bradley University, Peoria, IL, USA.

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Texting while walking significantly slows gait speed, but the slowdown is not proportional to task difficulty. Engaging in more complex walking tasks while texting increases deviations and errors, reducing overall efficiency.

Keywords:
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Area of Science:

  • Human movement science
  • Cognitive psychology
  • Human-computer interaction

Background:

  • Performing complex tasks while walking, such as texting, can impair gait performance.
  • Understanding the dual-task interference between cognitive and motor activities is crucial for safety and efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the impact of cell phone texting on gait performance across varying task difficulties.
  • To quantify changes in gait speed, deviations, and texting efficiency during dual-task scenarios.

Main Methods:

  • 36 participants performed Timed Up & Go, stair ambulation, and tandem gait tasks.
  • Gait was assessed under baseline, texting, and reading conditions.
  • Texting performance metrics included speed and errors.

Main Results:

  • Gait time increased across conditions (Baseline, Texting, Reading).
  • Tandem gait showed increased deviations during texting versus baseline.
  • Texting speed decreased on stair tasks, while errors increased on tandem gait tasks.

Conclusions:

  • Texting while walking impairs gait, but the effect on speed is task-independent.
  • Increased gait complexity amplifies texting errors and reduces texting speed.
  • Dual-tasking texting and walking reduces efficiency in both activities.