Assessment of backward walking unmasks mobility impairments in post-stroke community ambulators.

The study included only 15 adults after stroke and 12 controls, so it cannot describe how most stroke survivors walk backward. All participants were already high-functioning forward walkers who needed no device and walked faster than 0.8 m/s, so findings do not apply to people who use walkers, need assistance, or walk more slowly. Testing was done in a lab on a straight path, not in a real home or community environment. Walking speed was not matched between groups, so differences in backward walking may partly reflect different comfortable speeds. Practice trials for backward walking varied, and only sagittal-plane joint motion was analysed, so other movement strategies were not captured. The stroke group included both subacute and chronic stroke, so timing since stroke was not separated. The study did not test whether backward walking training improves mobility or whether backward walking predicts falls.

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Do not conclude that backward walking training improves community mobility or prevents falls. This study measured one-time backward walking performance in a small group of high-functioning forward walkers; it did not test an intervention or fall outcomes.