Comparing the biomechanics of crouch gait in children with cerebral palsy to that of age-matched controls and young healthy adults

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) results from an injury to the developing brain and commonly results in an abnormal gait pattern. Crouch gait is a common gait abnormality associated with CP. The aim of the presented study was to compare kinematics, kinetics and EMG data of CP children walking with a crouched gait with those of aged-matched healthy children and young healthy adults. Gait experiments were performed on two CP children. The main difference in the gait patterns of healthy children and young healthy adults appeared to be in late stance, just before toe off. Children exerted lower torques about the knee and ankle, and they also exerted lower forces on the ground. In crouch gait, the net extenso..