title: Gait ground reaction force characteristics in deaf and hearing children.
abstract: The link between gait parameters and hearing loss is not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the gait ground reaction forces, their time to peak, vertical loading rate, impulses and free moment during gait in deaf and hearing children. Thirty male children were equally divided into a healthy group and a group with hearing loss problems (Deaf group). Ground reaction forces were analyzed during barefoot walking. MANOVA test was used for between group comparisons. The significance level was set at p<0.05 for all analyses. Hearing loss was associated with increased propulsion lateral-medial ground reaction force (p=0.031), its time to peak (p=0.008), and lateral- medial impulse (p=0.018). Similar vertical reaction forces were observed in both groups (p>0.05). Positive peak of free moments in the healthy group was significantly greater than that in the deaf group (p=0.004). In conclusion, the results reveal that gait ground reaction force components in deaf children may have clinical values for rehabilitation of these subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Educational Science and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. Electronic address: amiralijafarnezhad@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Amir Ali
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Jafarnezhadgero
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport Biomechanics, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan Branch, Hamedan, Iran. Electronic address: majlesi11@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Majlesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Motor Behavior, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan Branch, Hamedan, Iran. Electronic address: azadian1@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Elaheh
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Azadian
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016138:Walking
keywords: Free moment; Gait; Ground reaction forces; Hearing loss; Impulse