Monitoring recovery of gait balance control following concussion using an accelerometer

Despite medical best-practice recommendations, no consistent standard exists to systematically monitor recovery from concussion. Studies utilizing camera-based systems have reported center-of-mass (COM) motion control deficits persisting in individuals with concussion up to two months post-injury. The use of an accelerometer may provide an efficient and sensitive method to monitor COM alterations following concussion that can be employed in clinical settings. This study examined: (1) frontal/sagittal plane acceleration characteristics during dual-task walking for individuals with concussion and healthy controls; and (2) the effectiveness of utilizing acceleration characteristics to classify concussed and healthy individuals via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Individuals with concussion completed testing within 72 h as well as 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months post-injury. Control subjects completed the same protocol in similar time increments. Participants walked and simultaneously completed a cognitive task while wearing an accelerometer attached to L5. Participants with concussion walked with significantly less peak medial-lateral acceleration during 55-75% gait cycle (p=0.04) throughout the testing period compared with controls. Moderate levels of sensitivity and specificity were found at the 72 h and 1 week testing times (sensitivity=0.70, specificity=0.71). ROC analysis revealed significant AUC values at the 72 h (AUC=0.889) and two week (AUC=0.810) time points. Accelerometer-derived measurements may assist in detecting frontal plane control deficits during dual-task walking post-concussion, consistent with camera-based studies. These initial findings demonstrate potential for using accelerometry as a tool for clinicians to monitor gait balance control following concussion.