View article

Objective: To compare the extent to which gait speed measured in the clinic setting differs from that measured in the community.

Design: Participants completed the 10-m walk test at a self-selected speed in a clinic setting. Following this they completed a 300-m community-based walking circuit that covered a variety of environmental conditions. Gait velocity was sampled at different points in the circuit. The same circuit and sampling points were used for all participants. Clinic gait velocity was compared to gait velocity measured on five occasions during the community-based circuit.

Setting: Physiotherapy clinic and local shopping mall.

Participants: Twenty-eight chronic stroke patients who regularly accessed the community divided into two groups based on their gait velocity in the clinic.

Main outcome measures: Walking velocity.

Results: Spearman rank correlation coefficient indicated that there was a strong correlation …