Sydney Jacobson, “Congruent Validity of GAITRite Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters and the Short Performance Physical Battery in Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease”
Mentor: Scott Strath, Kinesiology, Public Health (Joseph J. Zilber School of)
Poster #29
The GAITRite electronic walkway is a portable gait analysis tool measuring spatiotemporal gait parameters. Although frequently used for research and clinical purposes, the concurrent validity of the GAITRite has not been tested against common clinical measures in individuals with known mobility and functional limitations. To determine the congruent validity between GAITRite walkway for quantification of spatial and temporal footstep patterns and the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) in predisposed populations for mobility and functional limitations. To date, we have tested eleven adults with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) (mean age 68.6 ± 8.1 yrs, 64% female). All participants performed three walk trials at a self-selected pace using the 16ft GAITRite electronic walkway. Data was collected on velocity (m/s), step time, step length, cycle time, swing time, stance time, single support time, and double support time. Each participant also completed one trial of the SPPB, incorporating a timed test for balance, gait speed, and chair rise time. Each SPPB test was scored 0-4 based upon time and summed for a total score 0-12. Mean and SD were calculated for all measures. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated and compared across individual spatiotemporal gait metrics and total SPPB score, with an alpha value 0.05 used for significance. Participants were on average 180.5 ± 36.9 lbs and 166.5 ± 8.0 cm for weight and height. Correlation coefficients were significant for gait velocity and total SPPB, r=0.709 (p=0.003), step length left, r=0.666 (p=0.007), step length right, r=0.638 (p=0.007), stance time left, r=-0.478 (p=0.049), stance time right, r=-0.532 (p=0.041), and double support time left and right, r=-0.714 (p=0.003) and r=-0.690 (p=0.004), respectively. In this small sample of individuals with PD, early results show the GAITRite to be a valid tool compared with the clinical SPPB total score for measuring mobility and functional limitations in individuals with PD.