Does clinic-measured gait speed differ from gait speed measured in the community in people with stroke?

Abstract

The clinic-based 10-m walk test is able to predict walking velocity in a community setting in chronic stroke patients who score 0.8 m/s or faster. However, for those who score less than 0.8 m/s in the clinic test, gait velocity in the community may be overestimated.

Community Walking Training Program Improves Walking Function and Social Participation in Chronic Stroke Patients

“…Subjects were screened according to the following inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria for this study were categorized as 1) hemiparesis from a single stroke occurring at least six months before, 2) sufficient cognition to follow simple instructions and understand the purpose of the study (Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination score of ≥ 24 points), 3) gait speed < 0.8 m/s (Patla and Shumway-Cook 1999;Taylor et al 2006), 4) ability to walk 10 m independently without an assistive device, 5) absence of a musculoskeletal condition that could potentially affect the ability to walk safely, and 6) absence of hemispatial neglect. Exclusion criteria for the study were 1) participation in other studies or rehabilitation programs or 2) severe heart disease or uncontrolled hypertension and pain.…”

“…Assessment was conducted at a comfortable gait speed, and the subjects could take a rest when they wanted. For accurate assessment and safety, an evaluator followed the subject (Taylor et al 2006). The community gait assessment was performed in a new place to exclude the learning effect of training (Park et al 2011).…”

Comparison of gait performance on different environmental settings for patients with chronic spinal cord injury

“…On several studies on stroke patients there is a general agreement that a basic community ambulating gait and minimal daily community involvement are poor stimulating factors for the active reinsertion of the patient in the community. 8,[13][14][15][16] The International Functionality Classification (ICF) remarks the role of environmental factors on a patient's positive relationship with the community. 17,18 Unfortunately only a few classifications include real life community environments like crossing a street, mall walking and so on.…”

“…Reasons for this findings may involve multiple causes ranging from boredom factor, perception of danger and individual fitness. 8 …”

“…6,7 Gait speed is often measured in a clinic setting but it is unknown whether clinic-measured gait speed can predict community performance on individuals with SCI. 8,9 To the best of our knowledge there are no publications focusing on the impact of the environment on gait performance of SCI patients. In addition, there are no evaluation tools to correlate the validity of indoor values to community ambulating values in this group of patients.…”