Characterizing gait deficits in incomplete spinal cord injury using kinematic gait analysis and challenging locomotor conditions

After an incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI), gait deficits of different severities are present and depending on affected tracts, compensatory strategies are often applied. The purpose of this study was to quantify gait impairments and effects of compensatory strategies in individuals with iSCI using state-ofthe-art 3D kinematic gait analysis and challenging locomotor conditions (restricted vision, dual task). Twenty-three individuals with iSCI and 80 control subjects were included. Individuals with iSCI showed major deficits in inter- and intralimb coordination and symmetry during normal walking and additionally in gait variability during the challenging conditions. Furthermore, subject-specific analysis revealed individual deficits and consequences of compensatory strategies, which might be caused by differences in lesions. Comprehensive gait analysis including challenging conditions assists the identification of sensitive locomotor outcomes for clinical evaluations and might be used for the development of tailored therapies.