The difference of energy expenditure between crouch and jump-knee gait in children with cerebral palsy

Crouch gait, one of the most common gait pathologies among cerebral palsy (CP) is characterized by excessive knee flexion during stance phase that worsens over time and decreasing walking efficiency. CP patients in jump-knee gait have similar features to the individuals in crouch gait but exhibit a normal knee moment during midstance. Oxygen cost is the most reliable oxygen expenditure measurement to study the gait efficiency in CP children. The purpose of this study is to compare the energy expenditure between the crouch and the jump-knee groups in CP children. Our analysis showed the average oxygen cost in jump-knee group was greater than those in crouch group, but crouch group demonstrated a higher walking velocity than the jump-knee group. In addition, the crouch group exhibited the highest correlation between oxygen cost and walking speed.