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Updated: Aug 26, 2025
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Clinical-oriented Three-dimensional Gait Analysis Method for Evaluating Gait Disorder
Published on: March 4, 2018
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What can we learn from the relationship between gait deviations and clinical impairments when comparing two
Annie Pouliot-Laforte1, Louise Iterbeke2, Anne Tabard-Fougère1
1Kinesiology Laboratory, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Gait & Posture
|October 9, 2022
Summary
This study replicated gait analysis in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP), finding differences in impairment scores and kinematics between centers. Associations between spasticity and gait were similar, but others varied, impacting CP gait research.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Orthopedics
- Neurology
- Biomechanical Engineering
Background:
- Gait analysis in Cerebral Palsy (CP) is complex due to population heterogeneity.
- Previous studies show discrepancies in relating gait to clinical impairments.
- Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) offers a method to analyze kinematic waveforms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To replicate findings on the relationship between gait and clinical impairments in children with CP from another center.
- To validate the methodology used by Papageorgiou et al. (2019) in a new cohort.
- To compare gait kinematics and impairment associations between two distinct CP populations.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective screening of 211 children (3-18 years) with spastic unilateral (uCP) or bilateral (bCP) CP undergoing gait analysis.
- Application of identical inclusion/exclusion criteria and SPM methodology as Papageorgiou et al. (2019).
- Mann-Whitney-U and Student T-tests for inter-center comparisons; SPM for correlation analysis between impairments and sagittal motion.
Main Results:
- The Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) cohort showed less impaired patients compared to the reference study.
- Significant differences in composite scores and lower limb kinematics were observed between centers.
- While spasticity-kinematic associations were consistent, those with weakness, selectivity, and range of motion differed.
Conclusions:
- Replication of Papageorgiou et al. (2019) revealed center-specific differences in CP patient populations and gait patterns.
- The study highlights the importance of considering population characteristics in CP gait research.
- Methodology using SPM is robust for comparing kinematic waveforms and impairment associations across different cohorts.
