Gait and functionality of individuals with visual impairment who participate in sports

Background: Individuals with visual impairment (VI) have often been observed to walk slower than individuals with unimpaired vision. These observations might be confounded by typical low levels of physical activity and greater sedentary behavior in individuals with VI than the overall population. Research question: Here, we compared gait and balance measures between individuals with VI who participate in disability sports, and activity level matched sighted individuals. Methods: We assessed static balance, anthropometry, self-selected walking speed, locomotion rehabilitation index, and lower limb muscular endurance; and applied physical activity level and fear of falling questionnaires. Results: Individuals with VI who participate in disability sports, self-selected a similar walking speed (1.29 ± 0.26 m/s) as active sighted individuals (1.39 ± 0.21 m/s). Locomotor rehabilitation index and muscular endurance of lower limbs were also similar between groups. Individuals with VI presented lower static balance (42.0 ± 17.0s) than the sighted control group (45.0 ± 0s) when the controls were tested with their eyes open. However, no difference was found when the controls were tested with their eyes closed (30.3 ± 17.0s). Furthermore, individuals with VI showed a greater fear of falling. Significance: In conclusion, individuals with VI who participate in disability sports, as goalball and football, walk with similar self-selected walking speeds as active sighted individuals, but have slightly worse static balance and fear of falling.