Evaluation of the Effect of Gait Aids, Such as Canes, Crutches, and Walkers, on the Accuracy of Step Counters in Healthy Individuals

Figures & data

Table 1 Walking Tests

Experimental Condition	Type of Gait Aid	Gait-aid Location
1	None	NA
2	Cane	Dominant hand (same side as sensor)
3	Cane	Nondominant hand (opposite side as sensor)
4	Single crutch	Dominant hand (same side as sensor)
5	Single crutch	Nondominant hand (opposite side as sensor)
6	Two crutches	NA
7	Stationary walker	NA
8	Four-wheeled walker	NA

Table 2 Summary of Walking Tests: Means ± SD of step Counts

Walking Test	Wrist	Actual	Hip	p-values
No gait aids	94.7±13.8	101.3±3.3*	104.2±4.6*	0.04*
Cane, dominant side	88.8±30.9	100.9±2.3	72.8±42.7	NS
Cane, nondominant side	83.9±33.4	100.4±0.7	92.7±35.0	NS
Crutch, dominant side	83.7±29.8	100.1±0.3	96.1±38.1	NS
Crutch, nondominant side	107.3±26.5	100.1±0.3	97.2±35.7	NS
Crutches, both sides	66.7±46.2	100.2±0.4	90.3±55.3	NS
Stationary walker	65.8±44.8	100.2±0.4*	36.1±51.6*	0.01*
Four-wheeled walker	8.7±13.9*	100.0±0*	73.6±53.0	<0.0001*

Note: *p<0.05.

Abbreviation: NS, not significant.

Figure 1 Means ± SD of step counts for each walking test (*significant).

Figure 2 Continued.

Figure 2 (A) Bland–Altman plots for no gait aids, canes, or crutches for each walking test, measured in number of steps. (B) Bland–Altman plots for crutches and walkers for each walking test, measured in number of steps.