Walking Performance during Concurrent Cognitive and Motor Tasks in Individuals with Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Case-Control Study

The present study aimed to compare the effects of simultaneous cognitive and motor tasks on walking performance between individuals with nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) and healthy controls.  

A total of 20 patients with NSCLBP and 20 healthy controls participated in this study. They walked at their self-selected speed on a treadmill under 3 walking conditions in a randomized order: walking only, walking while performing a concurrent cognitive task, and walking while performing a concurrent motor task. Two-way repeated measure analysis of variance with additional post hoc comparison (Bonferroni test) was used to evaluate the effects of group and walking conditions on gait parameters.   

The result showed a significant main effect of the group for swing time (P = 0.012) and double support time (P = 0.021) in those with NSCLBP compared with healthy controls. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between the group and condition for cadence (P = 0.004) and step width variability (P = 0.016). Regarding stride length variability and stride time variability, the analysis indicated a significant effect of condition (P = 0.002 and P = 0.030, respectively). In both groups, no significant differences were observed in gait parameters between motor dual task and single walking (P > 0.05).  

Our findings indicated that those with NSCLBP adapted successfully to walking performance to maintain the performance of the concurrent cognitive task under the cognitive dual-task walking condition. Moreover, the present study observed no dual-task interference under the motor dual-task condition.