Performance during dual-task walking in a corridor after mild traumatic brain injury: A potential functional marker to assist return-to-function decisions

Objective: To compare the performance of participants with mTBI and healthy control on locomotor-cognitive dual-tasks in a corridor with limited technology. Design: Prospective study of twenty participants with mTBI (10 women; 22.10 +/- 2.97 years; 70.9 +/- 22.31 days post-injury), and 20 sex- and age-matched control participants (10 women; 22.55 +/- 2.72 years). Methods: Participants performed six different dual-tasks combining locomotor tasks (level-walking, obstacle-crossing, and tandem gait) and cognitive tasks (counting backwards and verbal fluency). Symptoms and neuropsychological performance were also assessed. Results: No differences between groups were found for symptoms and neuropsychological measures. For gait speed, the group effect was not significant, but a significant group X cognitive task interaction was found, revealing a tendency toward slower gait speed in the mTBI group during dual-task conditions. A significantly greater dual-task cost for gait speed was found for the mTBI group. Although no statistically significant differences in cognitive performance were observed during dual-tasks, the mTBI group subjectively reported being significantly less concentrated. Conclusion: The present study revealed that in persons who seem to have well recovered after mTBI, on average 71 days post-injury, alterations in gait are detectable using a simple, "low-tech," corridor-based dual-task walking assessment.