Emerging Role of gait analysis in the Diagnosis of traumatic brain injury
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22815080Keywords:
traumatic brain injury, gait analysis, dual-task gait, wearable sensors, balanceAbstract
Background: Gait disturbance is among the most common and functionally consequential sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet it is frequently underrecognized by routine bedside neurological examination alone [5,6].
Objective: This review synthesizes the evidence on gait disturbance after TBI and evaluates the diagnostic and monitoring value of clinical and instrumented gait analysis across the injury severity spectrum.
Methods: We synthesized observational cohort studies, instrumented gait analysis validation studies, dual-task paradigm research, and wearable sensor literature addressing gait assessment in TBI and closely related neurological populations.
Findings: Gait velocity and stride variability show a severity-graded decline relative to uninjured controls and remain measurably abnormal even in patients judged to have recovered on simple ambulation status; dual-task paradigms reveal cognitive-motor interference that single-task testing misses, and wearable inertial sensors are extending quantitative assessment beyond the gait laboratory, though TBI-specific validation of these devices remains comparatively limited.
Conclusions: Instrumented and dual-task gait analysis add meaningful diagnostic and monitoring sensitivity beyond bedside functional tests in TBI, and wearable sensor technology is well positioned to bring this sensitivity into routine, longitudinal clinical use as validation evidence accumulates.
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