Walking speed and distance in different environments of subjects in the later stage post-stroke

The purpose of this study is to assess short- and long-distance walking performance in indoor and outdoor environments of slow and fast walkers' subjects living in the community in the later stage post-stroke. Thirty-six subjects with at least 6 months post-stroke were included and divided into two groups based on their walking speed in the clinical setting. Thirty-meter walk tests (30 mWT) at self-selected and maximum speeds were assessed in three environments: (1) clinical setting; (2) basement setting; and (3) outdoor setting. Six-minute walk test (6 MWT) distance was assessed in the clinical and outdoor settings. The differences between the 30 mWT and the 6 MWT, as measured by the actual distance obtained in the 6 MWT and the predicted distance calculated for the 30 mWT, were also investigated. There was no difference in walking speed when subjects performed short-distance walking in different environments. However, a difference was found in performance of long-distance walking. Subjects who walked 0.8 m/s or faster also walked further in the outdoor setting. The findings of our study demonstrate that in those who scored below 0.8 m/s, performance of short- and long-distance walking evaluated in an indoor environment reflects the results obtained in an outdoor environment. However, for subjects post-stroke who score 0.8 m/s or faster, distance was increased in the outdoor environments during long-distance walking. Walking speed obtained over a short distance seemed to overestimate long-distance walking capacity for the slow walkers, despite the environment.