Abstract
BackgroundThe relationship between maximum and comfortable gait speed in individuals with mild to moderate disability in the chronic phase of stroke is unknown. ObjectiveThis study examines the relationship between comfortable and maximum gait speed in individuals with chronic stroke and whether the relationship differ from that seen in a community-dwelling elderly population. Further, we investigate the influence of age, gender, time post-stroke and degree of disability on gait speed. Materials and methodsGait speed was measured using the 10-meter walk test (10MWT) and the 30-meter walk test (30MWT) in 104 older individuals with chronic stroke and 154 community-dwelling controls, respectively. ResultsWe found that the maximum gait speed in individuals with stroke could be estimated by multiplying the comfortable speed by 1.41. This relationship differed significantly from that of the control group, for which the corresponding factor was 1.20. In the stroke group, age, gender and time post-stroke did not affect the relationship, whereas the degree of disability was negatively correlated with maximum speed - but not when included in the multiple analysis. In the community-dwelling population, higher age and female gender had a negative relationship with maximum gait speed. When correcting for those parameters, the coefficient was 1.07. ConclusionsThe maximum gait speed in the chronic phase of stroke can be estimated by multiplying the individual's comfortable gait speed by 1.41. This estimation is not impacted by age, gender, degree of disability and time since stroke. A similar but weaker relationship can be seen in the community-dwelling controls.
Highlights
Gait capacity has been shown to reflect health and indicate well-being and functional capacity.1À3 The impact of ageing on gait speed depends on the function and interplay of the musculoskeletal, visual, central nervous and peripheral nervous systems, as well as on cardiorespiratory fitness and energy production and delivery.[4,5] A loss of muscle mass occurs incipiently from middle age, and in severe instances can reach a loss of »50% by the 8À9th decade of life.[6]
The results of the control group in the present study demonstrated that lower age was correlated to higher comfortable and maximum gait speed, and being a man was correlated to higher maximum gait speed
The comfortable and maximum gait speed of the control group (1.39 and 1.99 m/s, respectively) are in agreement with the results presented by Bohannon,[42] showing that the average comfortable gait speed during the 10-meter walk test (10MWT) was 1.27À1.36 for individuals aged 60-79 years and the result for maximum gait speed was 1.77-2.08.42 Another limitation of this study is that the data was not normalised to height, since that variable had not been recorded for all participants
Summary
Gait capacity has been shown to reflect health and indicate well-being and functional capacity.1À3 The impact of ageing on gait speed depends on the function and interplay of the musculoskeletal, visual, central nervous and peripheral nervous systems, as well as on cardiorespiratory fitness and energy production and delivery.[4,5] A loss of muscle mass occurs incipiently from middle age, and in severe instances can reach a loss of »50% by the 8À9th decade of life.[6]. Results: We found that the maximum gait speed in individuals with stroke could be estimated by multiplying the comfortable speed by 1.41 This relationship differed significantly from that of the control group, for which the corresponding factor was 1.20. In the community-dwelling population, higher age and female gender had a negative relationship with maximum gait speed. When correcting for those parameters, the coefficient was 1.07. Conclusions: The maximum gait speed in the chronic phase of stroke can be estimated by multiplying the individual’s comfortable gait speed by 1.41 This estimation is not impacted by age, gender, degree of disability and time since stroke.
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