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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
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Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
Published on: November 7, 2014
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Validity of Poststroke Gait Spatiotemporal and Joint Excursion Metrics Between Inertial Measurement Units and a
Heather L Knight1, Ethan B Schonhaut1, Camden J Jacobs1
1College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
Journal of Applied Biomechanics
|October 6, 2025
Summary
Inertial measurement units (IMUs) show good validity for comparing average post-stroke gait parameters between systems. However, stride-by-stride gait variability metrics from IMUs require cautious interpretation due to lower validity.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Rehabilitation Technology
- Neurology
Background:
- Chronic stroke survivors often exhibit altered gait patterns, including spatiotemporal parameters and joint excursions.
- These gait metrics are crucial targets for rehabilitation interventions.
- Inertial measurement units (IMUs) offer a portable solution for quantifying gait outside clinical settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the validity of IMU-based gait metrics compared to marker-based systems in individuals with chronic stroke.
- To assess the agreement between IMU and marker-based systems for both average gait parameters and stride-by-stride variability.
- To determine the suitability of IMU data for clinical gait analysis and intervention targeting.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-one individuals with chronic stroke participated in the study.
- Gait analysis was performed using both IMU and marker-based systems during treadmill walking.
- Validity was assessed by comparing metrics across participants (average parameters) and within participants (stride-by-stride variance).
Main Results:
- Across-participant analysis showed excellent or good validity for most joint excursion metrics, supporting comparison with population norms.
- Within-participant analysis revealed excellent validity for stride duration but only poor to fair validity for stride length and most joint excursions.
- This indicates that IMU-based stride-by-stride gait variability measures should be used with caution.
Conclusions:
- IMU-based gait metrics demonstrate good validity for characterizing average gait parameters in chronic stroke, enabling comparison with existing norms.
- The validity of IMU-derived stride-by-stride gait variability metrics is limited, necessitating careful interpretation in clinical practice.
- IMUs show promise for post-stroke gait assessment, but further refinement may be needed for precise stride-level analysis.
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