Relationship between gait profile score and clinical assessments of gait in post-stroke patients.
Matteo Bigoni, Veronica Cimolin, Luca Vismara and 5 others
PMID 33710352WHAT IT FOUND
The Gait Profile Score correlates with balance and walking ability in chronic stroke patients.
Higher scores indicate worse gait. It predicts Berg Balance Scale scores, offering a 3D motion capture metric that aligns with clinical observations of stability and compensation.
Key findings
01The Gait Profile Score (GPS) showed a good correlation with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), meaning higher GPS scores (worse gait) were associated with lower BBS scores (worse balance).
02In multivariate modelling, GPS was an independent predictor of dynamic balance (BBS), with each degree of increase in GPS predicting a reduction of nearly 0.8 points in the BBS.
03Gait deviations were similar between the paretic and non-paretic limbs, suggesting compensatory strategies in the unaffected leg contribute to overall gait abnormality.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study excluded walking speed data from the GPS calculation, which is known to affect gait patterns. The authors noted that while a velocity-adjusted GPS exists, the difference was small compared to clinical significance thresholds. The sample size was relatively small (33 patients), limiting generalizability. The study focused on chronic patients (mean 4.46 years post-stroke) who could already walk without aids, so findings may not apply to acute or severely impaired patients. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality between gait kinematics and clinical outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the Gait Profile Score predicts functional independence or trunk control. While it correlated with balance (BBS), it was not a significant predictor of Functional Independence Measure (FIM) or Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) scores in the multivariate models.