Gait speed self-prediction accuracy for people with neurological conditions in inpatient rehabilitation

Abstract

Introduction

A component of engaging in functional motor tasks is the ability to assess one’s own motor performance in relationship to that task.

Objective

The primary purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate gait speed prediction accuracy for patients with neurological conditions participating in an Inpatient Rehabilitation (IPR) program. The secondary purpose was to evaluate what factors contributed to patient judgment error.

Methods

Nineteen subjects with a neurologic diagnosis who were admitted to an IPR unit were asked to predict their gait speed prior to execution of the 10-meter walk test. Data was analyzed to compare predicted versus actual gait speeds.

Results

Strong Pearson correlations (r) between actual and predicted gait speeds were found at time 1 (r = 0.90; 95%CI = 0.83, 0.96; p<.001), time 2 (r = 0.87; 95%CI = 0.74, 0.96; p<.001), and time 3 (r = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.82, 0.97; p<.001). Ninety-five percent limits of agreement (LOA) were calculated to be −0.07, 0.30 m/s at time 1; −0.21, 0.37 m/s at time 2; and −0.22, 0.34 at time 3.

Conclusions

Despite the strong correlations, there appears to be less certainty surrounding the relationship between actual gait speed and predicted gait speed when examining the limits of agreement. In general, subjects ambulated faster than they predicted, underestimating their actual performance. A mismatch between predicted gait speed and actual gait speed performance can have clinical implications.

Keywords:

• Gait speed
• inpatient rehabilitation
• judgment error

Acknowledgements

Authors wish to thank Lacy Wiley Brown and Melissa Potts for their contributions.

Disclosure statement

Authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The authors have no financial interest or benefits to declare.

Funding

There was no funding for this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Suzanne Trojanowski

Dr. Suzanne Trojanowski is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Michigan Flint. Dr. Trojanowski is also a board-certified clinical specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy. Her clinical background is in both acute care and inpatient rehabilitation with expertise in stroke and acquired brain injury. Her research interest is in knowledge translation and interprofessional education.

Chad Tiernan

Dr. Chad Tiernan is an Assistant Professor in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Michigan-Flint. He received his B.S, M.S., and Ph.D. in movement science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and later completed a post-doctoral fellowship in geriatrics at Wayne State University. Dr. Tiernan’s research areas include falls, physical activity, gait, and self-rated health in older adults.

Amy M. Yorke

Dr. Amy Yorke is an Associate Professor in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Michigan-Flint. Dr. Yorke is board-certified clinical specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy. She received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from Western Michigan University. Dr. Yorke’s research interest include knowledge translation, interprofessional education/collaborative practice, and outcome measures in rehabilitation.