Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
07:44
Evaluation of Patients' Posture and Gait Profile After Lumbar Fusion Surgery by Video Rasterstereography and Treadmill Gait Analysis
Published on: March 23, 2019
Functional mobility performance in an elderly population with lumbar spinal stenosis
M Whitehurst1, L E Brown, S G Eidelson
1Department of Health Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL 33314, USA. whitehur@fau.edu
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
|April 11, 2001
Summary
Elderly individuals with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) show significantly poorer functional mobility (FM) compared to apparently healthy (AH) subjects. FM tests demonstrated good reliability and validity for assessing mobility in both groups.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Orthopedics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Functional mobility (FM) is crucial for independence in elderly individuals.
- Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a common condition affecting elderly populations, potentially impacting mobility.
- Assessing FM reliably and validly is essential for clinical practice and research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the functional mobility of elderly apparently healthy (AH) subjects with patients diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).
- To evaluate the reliability and validity of specific functional mobility tests in these populations.
Main Methods:
- A test-retest design was employed for AH subjects, while LSS patients underwent a single assessment.
- Participants included 96 AH subjects and 57 LSS patients.
- Functional mobility was assessed using the Treadmill Walk (TW) test, Sit-to-Stand (SS) test, and Weight-Carrying (WC) walk test.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in functional mobility were observed between the AH and LSS groups across all tested parameters (TW, SS, WC).
- The test-retest reliability for the TW, SS, and WC tests in AH subjects was high, with correlation coefficients (r) ranging from .833 to .848.
- The observed performance differences suggest contextual validity of the tests.
Conclusions:
- Apparently healthy elderly individuals exhibit superior functional mobility compared to those with lumbar spinal stenosis.
- The functional mobility tests utilized demonstrate strong reliability and validity for differentiating mobility levels and assessing performance in elderly populations.
- These findings support the use of these FM tests in clinical settings for evaluating patients with LSS and healthy older adults.
