Comparison of Lower Limb Kinematics in Deaf and Hearing Children during Walking

The link between gait kinematics and hearing loss is not well understood. The aim of this study was to compare lower limb kinematics during walking in children with hearing loss compared with healthy control ones. Fifteen deaf children with bilateral hearing impairment and fifteen matched healthy control children, were purposefully selected. A four camera Vicon system (Oxford Metrics,UK) was used to record lower-body kinematic data. In this study, the asymmetric index of lower limb kinematics was calculated during the stance and swing phases of walking. In this study, independent t-test was used for statistical analysis. The significance level was set at P The results showed that the values of the right ankle plantar flexion angle in the stance and swing phases of walking in the deaf group were higher than that the healthy group by 37% (P=0.002) and 93%, respectively. Also, the initial peak of the left knee flexion angle during stance phase of walking in the deaf group was lower than that in the healthy group. The values of the ankle dorsiflexion asymmetric index in the deaf group were greater than that in the healthy group during both stance (P=0.11) and swing (P=0.015) phases of the walking. Lower initial peak knee flexion and higher asymmetry index during walking in children with hearing loss could be associated with increased the rate of injuries in these individuals. These results could be used in the rehabilitation protocol of children with hearing loss.