Cautious Gait Behaviour: The Relationship between Gait and Cognition in Community-Dwelling Adults with Concussion

Concussions can cause changes in gait and cognition. However, the relationship between these two areas has yet to be investigated in community-dwelling adults with concussion. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between gait and cognition by characterizing cautious gait behaviour in individuals with concussion. Results from Chapter 2 revealed higher cautious gait behaviour in the Concussion Group than the Healthy Group. Cautious gait behaviour, characterized by higher double support time and lower cadence, was associated with worse symptom severity and cognitive function. Chapter 3 identified responsiveness and MDC values for different gait measures and revealed that recovery of cautious gait behaviour did not occur in more than half of the participants 12 weeks post-concussion. These findings suggest the use of cautious gait behaviour as a marker of subtle gait and cognitive impairments that can be used for the assessment and management of concussion.