Are the average gait speeds during the 10meter and 6minute walk tests redundant in Parkinson disease?
Ryan P Duncan, Stephanie A Combs-Miller, Marie E McNeely and 7 others
PMID 27915221WHAT IT FOUND
For people with Parkinson disease, comfortable short-distance walking speed closely matched long-distance walking speed, especially at moderate stages.
The comfortable short test may estimate the long test. Fast short-distance speed still gave separate information.
Key findings
01Among 346 participants, comfortable short-distance walk speed was significantly related to long-distance walk speed across the whole sample.
02The comfortable short-distance test showed more redundancy with the long-distance test in higher disease stages than in the earliest stage.
03The fast short-distance test remained further from redundancy with the long-distance test than the comfortable short-distance test.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample came from prior studies, and only baseline data were used from the boxing study. Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale motor scores were not collected, so motor severity was less fully characterised. Raters were not blinded to disease stage, although the walking tests were timed rather than rated. Freezing of gait was not measured, and it could affect turning during the long-distance test. There were few participants at the most severe disease stage. Stage-specific relationships there are less certain. Some participants used an assistive device for the long-distance test but not for the short-distance test. The results were not reproduced in an external sample.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest. No funding source is stated in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude the long-distance walk test can be replaced for every person with Parkinson disease. The redundancy was mainly for the comfortable short-distance test at moderate stages, and the findings were not reproduced in an external sample.