Alterações na cinemática da marcha de pacientes atáxicos associada a dupla tarefa: um estudo comparativo

Abstract

Objective: To compare changes in gait kinematics associated with dual task of ataxic patients with healthy individuals. Methods: This was an observational, analytical, comparative study, with a cross-sectional approach, which evaluated eight individuals aged between 20 and 59 years. The individuals were divided into two groups, a group of patients with cerebellar ataxia and a control group, healthy. First the simple tasks were performed: gait, cognitive task, and cognitive-motor task. Then, the dual tasks were performed, where the gait was associated with each one of the activities. The gait evaluation was done through a three-dimensional gait trajectory capture system and the variables evaluated were speed, cadence, step length, stride size, stride time, and double support time. Results: Differences were found in the kinematic variables of gait in ataxic subjects compared to healthy subjects, with a significant difference only in stride length, in the dual cognitive task. In the double tasks, the ataxic presented worse performance, with a slower gait, with a wider base, shorter step and longer double support. The dual cognitive-motor task was the one that most impacted the gait kinematics of the ataxic and healthy group. Conclusion: There is an alteration in the gait kinematics of ataxic patients when a dual task is added, be it cognitive or cognitive-motor, with worse performance than healthy individuals. [resumo fornecido pelos autores]