Time Tandem Gait (TTG) in Athletes 7–16 Years of Age

Objective The goal of the present research was to provide updated normative TTG data for younger athletes and increase understanding of the reliability of the TTG. Background Imbalance is a hallmark sign of concussion. The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT-3) suggests using the Modified Balance Error Scoring System (mBESS) or Timed Tandem Gait (TTG) to evaluate balance function. TTG instructions indicate that times >14 seconds are abnormal as established in individuals between 16-37 years of age (Schneiders et al., 2010). Currently, there is a lack of normative data for the pediatric population. Design/Methods Pre-season TTG data were collected from 363 male and 20 female athletes with no active concussion complaints. The best TTG time out of 4 trials without errors was recorded. In addition, post-season data were collected for 107 male athletes. Results Results demonstrated a significant decrease in TTG time with age. Given this improvement, separate expected values were constructed: 7–8 years (21.4 +/− 7 s), 9–10 years (18.56 +/− 6 s), 11–12 years (18 +/− 5 s), 13–14 years (15.8 +/− 4 s), and 15–16 years (14.0 +/− 3 s). Analysis showed a significant improvement in TTG time over the season. Preliminary analysis shows no difference between baseline and post-concussion scores. Conclusions These results suggest that TTG time should be established annually. Future research will need to explore the expected amount of change in individuals with post-concussion imbalance.