Comparison of Two Methods for Estimating Adjustable One-Point Cane Length in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Our aim is to estimate inter-observer reliability, test-retest reliability, anthropometric and biomechanical adequacy and minimal detectable change when measuring the length of single-point adjustable canes in community-dwelling older adults.

There are 112 participants in the study. They are men and women, aged 60 years and over, who were attending an outpatient community health centre. An exploratory study design was used. Participants underwent two assessments within the same day by two independent observers and by the same observer at an interval of 15-45 days. Two measures were used to establish the length of a single-point adjustable cane: the distance from the distal wrist crease to the floor (WF) and the distance from the top of the greater trochanter of the femur to the floor (TF). Each individual was fitted according to these two measures, and elbow flexion angle was measured.

Inter-observer reliability and the test-retest reliability were high in both TF (ICC^3.1  = 0.918 and ICC^2.1  = 0.935) and WF measures (ICC^3.1  = 0.967 and ICC^2.1  = 0.960). Only 1% of the individuals kept an elbow flexion angle within the standard recommendation of 30° ± 10° when the cane length was determined by the TF measure, and 30% of the participants when the cane was determined by the WF measure. The minimal detectable cane length change was 2.2 cm.

Our results suggest that, even though both measures are reliable, cane length determined by WF distance is more appropriate to keep the elbow flexion angle within the standard recommendation. The minimal detectable change corresponds to approximately a hole in the cane adjustment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.