Reliability of the timed 10-metre walk test during inpatient rehabilitation in ambulatory adults with traumatic brain injury. (July 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hirsch, Mark A.; Williams, Kathryn; Norton, H. James; Hammond, Flora
• Is Part Of: Brain injury. Volume 28:Number 8(2014)
• Page Start: 1115
• Page End: 1120
• Publication Date: 2014-07
• Subjects: Brain damage -- Periodicals; Brain -- Wounds and injuries -- Periodicals; Brain Injuries -- Periodicals; 617.481
• DOI: 10.3109/02699052.2014.910701
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-9052

Abstract

<abstract> <title>Abstract</title> <p> <italic>Objective</italic>: To determine the test–re-test reliability of the timed 10-metre walk test (10MWT) among adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) enrolled in inpatient rehabilitation.</p> <p> <italic>Design</italic>: Prospective reliability study using a correlational design.</p> <p> <italic>Setting</italic>: Inpatient rehabilitation unit of a rehabilitation hospital.</p> <p> <italic>Participants</italic>: Twenty-three consecutive adults with acute TBI, mean age = 35.87, SD = 14.2 years (range = 18–64 years). This study tested 22 males and one female, who were 15.6 (SD = 9.1) days in inpatient rehabilitation at time of gait testing.</p> <p> <italic>Method</italic>: Repeated, timed 10-metre gait test within a 1-hour testing period with six trials at self-selected pace (SSP) and six trials at fastest pace (FP), recorded to the nearest 1/10 second with a hand-held stopwatch.</p> <p> <italic>Result</italic>: Gait speed measurements for SSP and FP were shown to have excellent test–re-test reliability (Intra Class Correlation coefficient = 0.964 and 0.961, respectively).</p> <p> <italic>Conclusions</italic>: These results add to the literature that the timed 10MWT is a reliable measure of gait velocity in adults with acute TBI for both FP and SSP.</p> </abstract>