Examination of gait measurement in home-based rehabilitation - Gait ability evaluation using a 1.5 meters walking test

Abstract

To investigate the feasibility of gait ability evaluation in home-based rehabilitation, 1.5 meters, 5 meters, and 10 meters walking were analyzed and the validity was examined. Forty patients in inpatient rehabilitation (age 70 ± 12 years) were subjects of the study. Each patient completed a measurement of gait. The comfort and the maximum speed, the time required and the number of steps that passed each line of 1.5 meters, 5 meters, and 10 meters while walking were measured and compared with the walking speed, the walking rate, and the step length. The results revealed no significant differences among walking speeds, walking rates, and step lengths among 1.5 meters, 5 meters and 10 meters. For the walking speed, the walking rate, and the step length, significant correlations were found between 1.5 meters and 5 meters and 10 meters in both the comfortable speed and the maximum speed conditions. Therefore, these results indicate that it may be possible to use a 1.5 meters walking test as a gait ability evaluation.