RELIABILITY OF SPATIOTEMPORAL GAIT CHARACTERISTICS IN PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the reliability of selected spatiotemporal parameters during gait in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Twelve Parkinson’s disease patients participated in the research and performed 10 repeated gait trials at their natural speed on two different measurement days. Patients walked on a 10 m walkway at a constant speed, following a stick, which moved in the required mean walking speed of each participant. Gait trials were recorded using 6 optoelectronic cameras operating at 100 Hz that were cyclically located over the walkway. Reliability of spatiotemporal parameters was assessed by the Intraclass Coefficient Correlation (ICC), for the sum of the 10 trials and for a single trial. Likewise, standard error of measurement (SEM) and limits of agreement (LOA) were calculated to assess the degree of agreement between the two measurements. Additionally, paired samples t-test was used to check the differences between the first and the second measurement day. Results showed that almost all spatiotemporal parameters that were examined produce great repeatability for the sum of the 10 trials. ICC values for a single trial were lower but remain adequate (>.80) for most of the spatiotemporal parameters (cadence, step length, stride length, support time, double support time, walk ratio and step width). Finally, no significant statistically differences were observed between the two measurements performed in patients with Parkinson’s disease in either of the studied variables.