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Self-selected walking speed predicts ability to run following traumatic brain injury
Gavin Williams1, Anthony G Schache, Meg E Morris
1Physiotherapy Department, Epworth Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (Dr Williams); and Centre for Health Exercise and Sports Medicine, School of Physiotherapy (Drs Williams and Morris) and Department of Mechanical Engineering (Dr Schache), University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Objective:
To identify factors that predict running ability following traumatic brain injury (TBI), and to quantify performance thresholds for these predictors.
Design:
Cross-sectional cohort study.
Participants:
One hundred fourteen people with TBI.
Outcome Measures:
Self-selected walking speed, the high-level mobility assessment tool, postural stability (lateral center of mass displacement), ankle power generation at push-off and quality of gait performance (Gait Profile Score).
Results:
All predictor variables were all strongly associated with the ability to run. However, only self-selected walking speed contributed significantly to the final result. Investigation of performance thresholds for self-selected walking speed indicated that following TBI, people who walk at speeds of 1.0 m/s or higher are 16.9 times more likely of being able to run than for those who walk at speeds of less than 1.0 m/s.
Conclusions:
Self-selected walking speeds higher than 1.0 m/s greatly increase the likelihood of running following brain injury. The 1.0 m/s threshold, although slower than able-bodied self-selected walking speeds, may be an important indicator of the ability to run in this population.
