Abstract
Self-paced treadmill walking is becoming increasingly popular for the gait assessment and re-education, in both research and clinical settings. Its day-to-day repeatability is yet to be established. This study scrutinised the test-retest repeatability of key gait parameters, obtained from the Gait Real-time Analysis Interactive Lab (GRAIL) system. Twenty-three male able-bodied adults (age: 34.56 ± 5.12 years) completed two separate gait assessments on the GRAIL system, separated by 5 ± 3 days. Key gait kinematic, kinetic, and spatial-temporal parameters were analysed. The Intraclass-Correlation Coefficients (ICC), Standard Error Measurement (SEM), Minimum Detectable Change (MDC), and the 95% limits of agreements were calculated to evaluate the repeatability of these gait parameters. Day-to-day agreements were excellent (ICCs > 0.87) for spatial-temporal parameters with low MDC and SEM values, <0.153 and <0.055, respectively. The repeatability was higher for joint kinetic than kinematic parameters, as reflected in small values of SEM (<0.13 Nm/kg and <3.4°) and MDC (<0.335 Nm/kg and <9.44°). The obtained values of all parameters fell within the 95% limits of agreement. Our findings demonstrate the repeatability of the GRAIL system available in our laboratory. The SEM and MDC values can be used to assist researchers and clinicians to distinguish ‘real’ changes in gait performance over time.
Highlights
Gait analysis using instrumented treadmills has become increasingly popular for gait assessment and training
For the spatial-temporal parameters, the difference between the means of these parameters in both sessions was less than 0.02 measurement units, whilst it was less than 1°, for the kinematic parameters apart from the left Range of Motion (ROM) of ankle dorsi-plantar flexion and foot progression (1.075° and 2.218°, respectively)
The aim of this study was to provide an assessment of day-to-day repeatability of the most common clinical gait parameters obtained from the Gait Real-time Analysis Interactive Lab (GRAIL) system during selfpaced treadmill walking
Summary
Gait analysis using instrumented treadmills has become increasingly popular for gait assessment and training. Walking on a treadmill at fixed speed with the absence of visual flow raises the concern over whether gait is being compensated for by maintaining fixed speed (Sheik-Nainar and Kaber 2007; Terrier and Dériaz 2011; Sloot et al 2014b) This could be overcome by introducing a self-paced technique: a novel feedback-controlled paradigm that allows subjects to continually control and intrinsically select the treadmill’s speed, in combination with a speed-matched virtual reality that generates visual flow to restore, to some extent, comparable over-ground walking (Souman et al 2008; Geijtenbeek et al 2011; Sloot et al 2014a, 2014b). This is despite its growing use in both clinical and research settings
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
