The relationship between physical function in the elderly and judgment error in walking speed.
Yumi Sakamoto, Yukari Ohashi
PMID 28744041WHAT IT FOUND
Some older adults misjudged walking speed.
Eight slow walkers judged themselves faster than a video model despite the slowest obstacle-course time and lower balance confidence.
Key findings
01Seventy-eight participants walked faster than the video model, and twenty-eight walked slower; twenty-four judged themselves faster than the model, and eighty-two judged themselves not faster than the model.
02Eight participants were in the slow-assured group, and this group had the slowest obstacle-course time.
03The slow-assured group had lower balance-confidence scores than the fast-assured and fast-modest groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The slow-assured group had only 8 participants. The study did not follow participants over time, so it cannot show that judgment errors lead to falls. Participants were community-dwelling elderly who felt well enough for testing, so findings may not apply to people who are medically unstable. The study was conducted in rural Japan, so generalization to other settings may be limited. Subjective judgments might change in a dynamic situation such as walking the obstacle course.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that misjudging walking speed causes falls. The study measured self-judgment and physical function at one time. It did not follow participants to see whether accidents happened.