Is There a Relationship Between Clinical Rating Scales and Instrumental Gait Stability Measures?

Abstract

Clinical assessment of walking deficits in poststroke patients is typically based on clinical rating scales. This approach is however highly dependent on the clinician’s subjective judgement. Objective tools for the quantification of locomotor function are needed, and instrumental measures of gait stability could represent a promising solution. The integration of the two approaches could lead to a more reliable quantification of locomotor deficits in post-stroke patients, and improving the understanding of the physiological correlate of gait stability measures. The aim of the present study was to assess the association between instrumental stability measures based on trunk accelerations during gait and clinical rating scales in a sample of post-acute stroke subjects.