Walk Test
Minimally taxing assessment that measures walking speed, ground contact time, and spatiotemporal gait parameters.
What is a walk test?
The walk test is a simple, minimally taxing test that measures walking speed, ground contact time, and spatiotemporal gait parameters to characterize walking capacity and preparedness for safe community mobility. The walk test can be used for mild traumatic brain injury, neurological disease, post-injury rehabilitation, and general health in the elderly.
The two-minute and six-minute walk tests are subcategories of the walk test used to test aerobic capacity and functional mobility in specific populations (e.g. community-dwelling elderly, chronic heart failure, COPD, stroke, and SCI). Using the same procedure as Plantiga's Standard Walk Test, a practitioner can perform either the two-minute or six-minute walk test to evaluate the following areas of functional movement performance:
Movement quality and functional capacity
Movement control and adaptability
Propulsive and absorptive strategies with foot-ground interactions
Degree of inter-limb asymmetry for all of the above components of movement performance
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Important: To track changes accurately over time, it's important to keep external conditions as consistent as possible. Try to use the same walking route and length of time (at least 2 mins is recommended) for each activity.
1. Tester navigates to the measure page of the Plantiga app and selects the Walk Test.
2. Tester selects the subject that will be performing the activity. Address any warnings that may come up once they have been selected.
3. Tester instructs the subject to stand still with feet planted firmly on the ground.
4. Tester starts the Walk Test in their plantiga.io web application, and the subject remains still as the stopwatch counts down from 5.
5. Subject begins walking for the chosen amount of time.
6. Once the time elapses, the tester instructs the subject to stop and plant their feet firmly on the ground.
7. The tester stops the stopwatch once still, and the subject remains still for 5 seconds.
8. Tester fills out optional information (RPE, Pain, Floor type...) and saves the Walk Test.
What does Plantiga measure?
Gait Speed: average walking speed is often used clinically to measure functional capacity and disability.
Declines in walking speed reflect compensation for impaired motor control, and slowing of gait is a proxy for challenges to controlling gait.
Double Support Ratio: the percentage of time spent with both feet on the ground during the gait cycle and reflects balance ability and confidence in balance ability.
A high double support ratio (> 20%) combined with low gait speed and high GCT reflects an attempt to limit time spent on a single leg due to poor balance control. This can indicate increased fall risk.
Vertical take-off acceleration (VTA) asymmetry: A comparison of how quickly the left vs. right foot swings immediately after toe-off.
If combined with more significant GCT asymmetry on the same side, high VTA asymmetry (> 10%) occurs when the opposite limb is fatigued, weak, or experiencing pain.
High VTA asymmetry indicates weaker ankle musculature if combined with larger GCT asymmetry on the opposite side.
Vertical Landing Acceleration (VLA) Asymmetry: a comparison of the ability of the left vs. right to absorb impact when the foot lands on the ground.
High VLA asymmetry (> 10%) occurs when landing more abruptly on one limb than the other.
High VLA and GCT asymmetry on the same side indicate compensatory shifting of loading demands away from the affected or weaker limb.
How can my patients benefit from walk testing with Plantiga?
To simplify data interpretation and provide actionable movement insights to our users for better rehabilitation and performance outcomes, we’ve created instant and customizable activity reporting tools that can be accessed and shared within minutes.
