Abstract
Paterson KL, Hill KD, Lythgo ND, Maschette W. The reliability of spatiotemporal gait
data for young and older women during continuous overground walking.
Objective
To examine the reliability and systematic bias in spatiotemporal gait parameters recorded
in healthy women during repeated single and continuous overground walking trials.
Design
Test-retest.
Setting
University laboratory.
Participants
Young (n=13) and older adult (n=14) women volunteers.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Spatiotemporal data were collected from an 8.1-m GAITRite mat during 10 trials of
discrete single walks and 10 laps of a continuous circuit presented in random order
over 2 separate test sessions. Paired t tests, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), SE of measurement, and coefficients
of variation (CV) were calculated.
Results
The relative and absolute measures of reliability showed most spatiotemporal variables
recorded during the single and continuous walking protocols were reliable. Step length,
foot angle, and step and stance times were found to be the most reliable parameters,
with ICCs ranging from 0.84 to 0.95, CVs from 2.06% to 4.02%, and SE of measurements
of 1.59 to 2.04cm for step length, 1.32° to 1.71° for foot angle, and 0.011 to 0.025
seconds for step and stance times. Reliability estimates were similar for the single
and continuous trial conditions and between the young and older women. Although small
mean differences in the gait parameters were found across the test sessions, many
of these parameters showed systematic bias (P≤.05). In the single trial condition, the majority (65%) of the gait parameters showed
significant bias, whereas in the continuous condition only 19% of the parameters exhibited
bias. For the young women, 54% of the parameters showed systematic bias (P≤.05) in the single trial condition, whereas 77% of the parameters exhibited bias
for the older women. In the continuous walking condition, 38% of the gait parameters
showed systematic bias (P≤.05) for the young women, whereas no systematic bias was found in the gait parameters
of the older women.
Conclusions
This study shows that both the single and continuous walking protocols are reliable
methods for the collection of gait data in young and older women. It also shows that
a continuous overground walking protocol produces less bias in test-retest spatiotemporal
gait data. Therefore, a continuous protocol may be a better method when attempting
to monitor gait changes over time, especially for older women.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
CI (confidence interval), CV (coefficient of variation), ICC (intraclass correlation coefficients)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
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© 2008 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
