| Sumario: | Background: Daily activities often require managing dual-task conditions, in which motor and cognitive tasks are performed simultaneously. Adding a secondary task while walking increases the risk of task interference, which can lead to imbalance and fall risk. Stroke survivors have locomotor limitations that further increase their risk of falls. Objective: To evaluate the effect of dual task on gait speed in post-stroke individuals. Material and methods: A cross-sectional associative study with a quantitative approach was conducted, which included seven older participants with a history of stroke (62 years old, mini mental 28.4 points, history of fall 0.5 in the last year). Gait speed was assessed during the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test with a chronometer in two conditions: single task (walking only) and dual task (walking while performing a simultaneous cognitive task). The order in which each task was to perform was determined by draw. The dual task consisted of walking and talking about supermarket products simultaneously. This work was approved by the local ethics committee (CAAE: 82311324.7.0000.8135). Results: Participants with stroke required longer time to complete the TUG test under dual-task conditions (t (6) = - 14.798; p < 0.001). The mean time for the single-task condition was 14.46 seconds, compared with 18.74 seconds for the dual-task condition. The error during the dual task was 1.8 times. Conclusion: Performing a cognitive task while walking significantly reduced gait speed in stroke survivors, potentially increasing fall risk. Therefore, these findings highlight the need to incorporate dual-task demands into fall risk assessments and rehabilitation strategies to address the specific needs of daily activities.
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