Jump Gait and Cerebral Palsy – How to Help

Do you work with children who have a jump gait and cerebral palsy? Are you looking to improve their walking pattern? A jump gait is when a child walks with an increased lumbar lordosis, anterior pelvic tilt, excessive hip and knee flexion and they are up on their toes. Whereas a crouch gait, is when the child has excessive dorsiflexion at the ankle in combination with excessive flexion at the knee and hip joints. A recent study looked closely at 10 children who walked with a jump gait.

Methodology of the Study

In order to assess the kinematic changes and muscle fatigue in jump gait during a walking exercise, and the relationship between kinematic changes and muscle fatigue and strength, the researchers used a dynamometer to measure hip and knee maximal isometric muscle strength in the ten children with cerebral palsy who walked with a jump gait. When the children walked for 6 minutes at their own speed, lower-limb kinematics and electromyography information was collected.

Teaching Motor Skills to Children with Cerebral Palsy and Similar Movement Disorders

Results of the Study on Jump Gait and Cerebral Palsy

Data analysis was completed comparing the first and sixth minute of the walking exercise. The results indicated that:

  • during stance, maximal knee flexion significantly increased at the sixth minute and was associated with knee extensor muscle weakness.
  • muscle fatigue was only observed in gluteus medius muscle.

Conclusions 

The researchers concluded that children with cerebral palsy who walked with jump gait and who had knee extensor weakness were more prone to an increase in knee flexion during a continuous walk. It was recommended that interventions should target the gluteus medius muscle endurance in order to improve jump gait.

Reference: Parent, A., Maso, F. D., Pouliot-Laforte, A., Cherni, Y., Marois, P., & Ballaz, L. (2021). Short walking exercise leads to gait changes and muscle fatigue in children with cerebral palsy who walk with jump gait. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.