Are challenging walking environments linked to falls or risk of falling in children with cerebral palsy? A systematic review

Rebecca Louise Walker, Thomas O'Brien, Gabor Barton, BERNIE CARTER, David Wright, Richard Foster

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (journal)peer-review

Abstract

Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) regularly fall over and this has negative effects on their physical and psychosocial wellbeing (e.g., reduced activity participation). However, the reasons for falls are not well understood. The way in which children negotiate challenging walking environments (e.g., uneven surfaces), may reveal more about how falls occur as these environments require gait modifications to maintain stability. Stability in challenging walking environments has been explored for children with CP; however, it remains unclear how these lead to falls. Research question: Do challenging walking environments that mimic those faced in the real-world, contribute to increased fall occurrence and fall risk in children with CP? Methods: Five databases were searched, and 1386 records screened to include ambulatory children with CP, aged 5-18 years old, investigating dynamic walking in challenging environments, with outcomes of fall occurrence or fall risk. The full protocol for this review was re
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)306-316
Number of pages11
JournalGait and Posture
Volume117
Early online date21 Jan 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 21 Jan 2025

Keywords

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Child
  • Fall
  • Stability
  • Challenging environments
  • Real-world

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