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Community walking activity in neurological disorders with leg weakness.
M E Busse1, C M Wiles, R W M van Deursen
1Research Centre for Clinical Kinaesiology, Department of Physiotherapy, Cardiff University, Ty Dewi Sant, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK. busseme@cardiff.ac.uk
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
|February 18, 2006
Summary
Gait speed, not muscle strength or functional scores, best predicts daily walking activity in individuals with lower limb weakness. Measuring community walking provides valuable insights for neurological disorder interventions.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Individuals with lower limb weakness often experience reduced community mobility.
- Assessing the predictive value of clinical measures for real-world walking activity is crucial for effective rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine community walking mobility in individuals with lower limb weakness.
- To establish the predictive capacity of clinical measures for community walking activity.
Main Methods:
- Recruited independently ambulant patients with neurological lower limb weakness and healthy controls.
- Measured muscle strength, sit-to-stand (STS) time, gait speed, daily step counts (7 days), and functional ability (Rivermead Mobility Index - RMI).
- Utilized backward stepwise regression to identify predictors of daily step count.
Main Results:
- Patients exhibited significantly lower muscle strength, slower STS, and reduced gait speed compared to controls.
- Mean daily step count was substantially lower in patients.
- Self-selected gait speed was the sole significant predictor of daily step count in the regression analysis.
Conclusions:
- Clinical measures like muscle strength, timed STS, and RMI do not accurately reflect community walking activity in these patient groups.
- Self-selected gait speed partially predicts community walking.
- Measuring community walking activity offers a novel approach to evaluating interventions for neurological disorders.