Abstract
Plasschaert F, Jones K, Forward M. The effect of simulating weight gain on the energy
cost of walking in unimpaired children and children with cerebral palsy.
Objective
To examine the effect of simulating weight gain on the energy cost of walking in children
with cerebral palsy (CP) compared with unimpaired children.
Design
Repeated measures, matched subjects, controlled.
Setting
University hospital clinical gait and movement analysis laboratory.
Participants
Children (n=42) with CP and unimpaired children (n=42).
Interventions
Addition of 10% of body mass in weight belt.
Main Outcome Measures
Energy cost of walking parameters consisting of walking speed, Physiological Cost
Index, Total Heart Beat Index, oxygen uptake (V̇o2), gross oxygen cost, nondimensional net oxygen cost, and net oxygen cost with speed
normalized to height were measured by using a breath-by-breath gas analysis system
(K4b2) and a light beam timing gate system arranged around a figure 8 track. Two walking
trials were performed in random order, with and the other without wearing a weighted
belt.
Results
Children with CP and their unimpaired counterparts responded in fundamentally different
ways to weight gain. The unimpaired population maintained speed and V̇o2 but the children with CP trended toward a drop in their speed and an increase in
their V̇o2. The oxygen consumption of children with CP showed a greater dependence on mass than
the unimpaired group (P=.043).
Conclusions
An increase of a relatively small percentage in body mass began to significantly impact
the energy cost of walking in children with CP. This result highlights the need for
weight control to sustain the level of functional walking in these children.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
CP (cerebral palsy), PCI (Physiological Cost Index), THBI (Total Heart Beat Index), V̇o2 (oxygen uptake)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Footnotes
Supported by Research Fellowship Funding, Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopedic Hospital Oswestry, Shropshire, UK.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Reprints are not available from the authors.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
