Effects of cognitive dual tasking and tandem walking on gait parameters in chronic neck pain people: a preliminary cross-sectional study

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to compare gait characteristics under cognitive dual-tasking and tandem walking in people with and without chronic neck pain. METHODS: Twenty-one adults with a history of non-specific neck pain and twenty-two matched control adults walked on a motorized treadmill under normal and tandem walking with and without a cognitive task. Gait spatiotemporal variables including cadence, stride length, and stride velocity were obtained using the motion analysis system. RESULTS: In cognitive dual-task condition, people with neck pain had significantly higher dual-task costs (DTC) of cadence (p <.01, ηp2=.45), stride length (p <.01, ηp2=.67), and stride velocity (p <.01, ηp2=.96) compared to controls. The pattern of change was not different between the two groups. All participants showed a shorter stride length, and lower stride length variability in dual-task walking (p <.01, ηp2>.10). Tandem walking resulted in lower cadence in the chronic neck pain group compared to controls (p=.02, ηp2=.11). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that people with neck pain rely more than healthy subjects on executive-attentional resources to control gait parameters; however, to better understand the dual-task-related gait changes in people with neck pain, further research is required to examine the dual-task gait in more challenging cognitive and walking tasks. Tandem walking should be considered in gait assessment and training of people with neck pain.