Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42437298›Full record

ArticleNorth American Spine Society journal2026

Enhanced measures to quantify gait and balance impairment in degenerative cervical myelopathy: A prospective cohort study.

Khadija Soufi, Omar Ortuno, Tiffany Chu, Jose A Castillo, Alan Harris, Muhammad Sulman, Kee D Kim, Richard Price, Yashar Javidan, Rolando Roberto and 6 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in North American Spine Society journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Khadija SoufiSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.
Omar OrtunoSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.
Tiffany ChuSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.
Jose A CastilloSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.
Alan HarrisSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.
Muhammad SulmanSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.
Kee D KimSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.
Richard PriceSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.
Yashar JavidanDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California, Davis, CA, United States.
Rolando RobertoDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California, Davis, CA, United States.
Hai V LeDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California, Davis, CA, United States.
Safdar KhanDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California, Davis, CA, United States.
Eric O KlinebergDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, McGovern School of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States.
Sukhvinder Kalsi-RyanSpinal Cord Injury Center and Department of Neurology and Neurophysiology, Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Michael G FehlingsDepartment of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Allan R MartinSpinal Cord Injury, Function and Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Davis, California, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Gait and balance impairment are primary symptoms of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM), but practical measures are lacking leading to delays in diagnosis and intervention. This study evaluated numerous gait and balance measures for their clinical and research utility. Methods: A prospective cohort study compared DCM and healthy subjects across several tasks: self-paced and fast-paced gait, tandem gait, tandem stance, single-leg stance, and Romberg with eyes open and closed. Tasks were scored manually and electronically using pressure mat data. Abbreviated Berg Balance (aBB) Scale, modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA), and EuroQol 5-dimension were administered. Group comparisons used Mann-Whitney-U tests with Benjamini-Hochberg correction. Convergent validity was assessed with Spearman correlations to mJOA lower extremity (LE) scores. Subgroup analysis evaluated DCM patients with subjectively normal balance (DCM-SNB). Results: 135 DCM patients and 110 age-matched healthy subjects were analyzed. DCM patients demonstrated impaired tandem gait, single-leg stance, aBB, velocity, gait stability ratio, and gait variability (p Conclusions: Gait and balance can be readily assessed in DCM patients using tandem gait, walking velocity, aBB, and single-leg stance. The modified 10-step Tandem Gait Score is a practical tool that demonstrates convergent validity and can detect subtle impairment prior to symptomatic recognition.

Indexed as

BalanceCervicalDegenerativeFunctionalGaitKinematicsMyelopathyNeurologicalOutcomes

Identifiers

PMID42437298
PMCPMC13355517

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.