Reliability of gait performance tests in men and women with hemiparesis after stroke.

• OBJECTIVE: To assess the reliability of 6 gait performance tests in individuals with chronic mild to moderate post-stroke hemiparesis.DESIGN: An intra-rater (between occasions) test-retest reliability study. Subjects: Fifty men and women (mean age 58+/-6.4 years) 6-46 months post-stroke.METHODS: The Timed "Up & Go" test, the Comfortable and the Fast Gait Speed tests, the Stair Climbing ascend and descend tests and the 6-Minute Walk test were assessed 7 days apart. Reliability was evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC(2,1)), the Bland & Altman analysis, the standard error of measurement (SEM and SEM%) and the smallest real difference (SRD and SRD%).RESULTS: Test-retest agreements were high (ICC(2,1) 0.94-0.99) with no discernible systematic differences between the tests. The standard error of measurement (SEM%), representing the smallest change that indicates a real (clinical) improvement for a group of individuals, was small (< 9%). The smallest real difference (SRD%), representing the smallest change that indicates a real (clinical) improvement for a single individual, was also small (13-23%).CONCLUSION: These commonly used gait performance tests are highly reliable and can be recommended to evaluate improvements in various aspects of gait performance in individuals with chronic mild to moderate hemiparesis after stroke.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Sjukgymnastik (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Physiotherapy (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Annan medicin och hälsovetenskap -- Övrig annan medicin och hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Other Medical and Health Sciences -- Other Medical and Health Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

activities of daily living

cerebrovascular accident

gait

outcome assessment

rehabilitation

reproducibility of results

research design

walking

walking

gait

cerebrovascular accident

activities of daily living

outcome assessment

research design

rehabilitation

reproducibility of results

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)