A simple method to categorize gait speed of older persons based on visual inspection of stepping

The aim of this study was to develop a simple visualized approach to classify persons into meaningful gait speed categories. Footprints of 310 instrumented gait analyses of 190 geriatric persons (mean age 79.1 years, 74 women) were used in a retrospective analysis to classify persons´ footprints into a left/right step overlapping, an intermediate or a long stepping pattern. The association between gait speed and step length was r = 0.91. More than 75% of the measurements classified as overlapping stepping pattern had a gait speed of below 0.5 m/s. All participants of the long stepping pattern group had a gait speed of faster than 1 m/s. The positive predictive values for classifying gait speed correctly were 71-100%. The proposed screening tool can be used in outpatient settings or home visits and is likely to be applicable if instrumented gait speed assessment is not available.