Establishing Normative Data for Single- and Dual-Task Tandem Gait in Healthy Interuniversity Male and Female Athletes

OBJECTIVE: Single- and dual-task tandem gait are key components of the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 6 and Sport Concussion Office Assessment Tool 6 (SCOAT6) balance assessment. However, the performance criteria for tandem gait remain unclear for male and female healthy athletes, and those with a concussion. This study aimed to establish normative performance outcomes for single- and dual-task tandem gait in healthy male and female athletes, and to compare their performance with SCOAT6 criteria. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Interuniversity athletics program. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy interuniversity athletes (N = 103; female = 43). INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: N/A. OUTCOME MEASURES: Three trials of single- and dual-task tandem gait-time to completion, motor errors, and cognitive accuracy were obtained. RESULTS: Female athletes were generally slower than male athletes across both task types on average across all three trials, with a difference of 1.6 seconds [90% Credible Interval (CrI) = 0.5 to 2.6, posterior probability above zero seconds (pprob) = 99.3%] for single-task and 2.8 seconds (90% CrI = 0.6-5.1, pprob = 98.1%) for dual-task. This trend persisted when analyzing the fastest single trial, with female athletes exhibiting slower times by 1.4 seconds (90% CrI = 0.2-2.4, pprob = 97.8%) and 2.1 seconds (90% CrI = 0-4.2, pprob = 94.8%) for single- and dual-tasks, respectively. Furthermore, based on SCOAT6 criteria, most athletes were categorized as "very slow" for single-task (>12.5 seconds; females = 88.4%, males = 71.7%) and dual-task conditions (>16.3 seconds; females = 88.4%, males = 76.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Healthy male athletes performed single- and dual-task tandem gait faster than female athletes. In addition, most athletes performed below the "normal" ranges according to SCOAT6 criteria, suggesting that normative performance values for tandem gait may need revisiting to enhance clinical interpretation.