Concurrent Validity Of Zeno Compared To Gaitrite With Backward Walking In Healthy Older Adults

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Previous research has identified an age-related decline in backward walking performance measured via spatio-temporal parameters using GAITRite walkway. Moreover, it has also been shown that older adults categorized as fallers performed poorly with slower gait compared to non-fallers during backward walking. Zeno and GAITRite are both instrumented walkway systems used to assess spatio-temporal parameters of gait. The Zeno has a wider walkway than the GAITRite but is less portable for similar configurations. The GAITRite has been used extensively for measuring spatio-temporal parameters of backward gait. The Zeno has been less researched. PURPOSE: To determine concurrent validity of the Zeno and GAITRite walkways to assess spatio-temporal parameters of backwards walking in healthy older adults. METHODS: 30 healthy older adults (19 females, 75.1 ± 6.3 years of age) participated in this study. Participants were 65 or older, could walk 30 feet independently, and were not at risk for falls as determined by American Geriatric Society guidelines. The participants walked backwards at a comfortable pace on both the Zeno walkway (16’ x 4’) and GAITRite walkway (14’x 2’). Participants performed one practice walk and five test walks on each walkway. ICC values (2,5) were calculated using GAITRite compared to Zeno measurements for stride length, width, and velocity, step, stance, and swing time, stance and swing percent, single support time, single support percent, velocity, and cadence. A paired sample t-test was used to determine a significant difference between measurements from both the systems. RESULTS: The ICC values ranged from 0.665 to 0.971. Backwards walking stride width was significantly greater when walking on GAITRite (16.80 ± 4.74 cm) compared to Zeno (14.98 ± 3.58 cm; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The validity between the GAITRite and Zeno walkway systems showed excellent correlation on most spatial measurements and moderate agreement for some temporal parameters. Differences in stride width could have been due to method of calculation or perception of participants while walking on a narrower walkway. The results indicate clinicians can use Zeno for clinical assessment of backwards gait, keeping in mind the differences in temporal measurements if compared with published GAITRite results for healthy older adults.