Upper body gait deviations in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is primarily a disease of progressive muscle degeneration affecting the whole body. It is important to preserve the patients' walking ability as long as possible. Inconclusive information on Duchenne muscular dystrophy gait pattern is available for the lower body and missing for the upper body. This study aimed to objectively investigate upper body gait deviations in a group of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy compared to typically developing peers.

Kinematic data of twelve boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy that underwent three-dimensional full-body gait analysis were investigated retrospectively. Data were compared to sixteen healthy children of same age at similar walking speed. Statistical tests included the student independent t-test (with Holm-Bonferroni correction), Hedges'g for effect size, and statistical non-parametric mapping two-sample t-test (with Bonferroni correction).

Duchenne muscular dystrophy compared to the healthy group: In the sagittal plane, the thorax segment was more posteriorly tilted. In addition, the relative angle between pelvis and thorax segment showed more backwards lean with increased shoulder extension. In the frontal plane, the patients walked with increased shoulder abduction and took wider strides. In the transverse plane, thorax rotation was not different between groups. Thorax range of motion was increased in all three planes.

Including the upper body gait kinematics, especially of the trunk, adds valuable objective information on the understanding of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gait pattern. Our findings contribute to improved understanding of full-body gait compensations in this patient group.