The effects of weight-bearing manipulations on gait and its underlying neural control mechanisms in toe walking children
The findings of this exploratory study suggest that toe walking is associated with distinct adaptive strategies in ITW and CP children to compensate for environmental challenges. In ITW, increased variability under bodyweight unloading may reflect exploratory motor control, whereas CP children relied on stiffening strategies, marked by reduced variability and hyperreflexia, indicating limited adaptability and less efficient gait patterns. These results imply that similar biomechanical constraints evoke divergent neuromotor adaptations in ITW and CP children.
Authors
- Navrag B. Singh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8074-041X)
- Elke Viehweger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6639-4557)
- William R. Taylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4060-4098)
- Reinald Brunner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3717-9062)
- Rosa M. S. Visscher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2817-9359)
- Michelle Gwerder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4484-9244)
- Seyyed Hamed Hosseini Nasab (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3518-3316)
- Yong Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8975-5762)
- Regine Zibold
- Anusha Spescha
Institutions
- University of Basel (CH)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- University Children’s Hospital Basel (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
- Published
- 2025-11-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1701454
- Primary Topic
- Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Innosuisse - Schweizerische Agentur für Innovationsförderung