Citation

Lindemann U, Schwenk M, Schmitt S, Weyrich M, Schlicht W, Becker C. Z. Gerontol. 2016; 50(6): 483-487.

Vernacular Title

Effekt von Bergauf- und Bergabgehen auf die Gehfähigkeit geriatrischer Patienten mit Rollator.

Affiliation

Research Initiative Human Factors in Ageing, Technology and Environment, University Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00391-016-1156-4

PMID

27878412

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Wheeled walkers are recommended to improve walking performance in older persons and to encourage and assist participation in daily life. Nevertheless, using a wheeled walker can cause serious problems in the natural environment. This study aimed to compare uphill and downhill walking with walking level in geriatric patients using a wheeled walker. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of using a wheeled walker with respect to dual tasking when walking level.

METHODS: A total of 20 geriatric patients (median age 84.5 years) walked 10 m at their habitual pace along a level surface, uphill and downhill, with and without a standard wheeled walker. Gait speed, stride length and cadence were assessed by wearable sensors and the walk ratio was calculated.

RESULTS: When using a wheeled walker while walking level the walk ratio improved (0.58 m/[steps/min] versus 0.57 m/[steps/min], p = 0.023) but gait speed decreased (1.07 m/s versus 1.12 m/s, p = 0.020) when compared to not using a wheeled walker. With respect to the walk ratio, uphill and downhill walking with a wheeled walker decreased walking performance when compared to level walking (0.54 m/[steps/min] versus 0.58 m/[steps/min], p = 0.023 and 0.55 m/[steps/min] versus 0.58 m/[steps/min], p = 0.001, respectively). At the same time, gait speed decreased (0.079 m/s versus 1.07 m/s, p < 0.0001) or was unaffected.

CONCLUSION: The use of a wheeled walker improved the quality of level walking but the performance of uphill and downhill walking was worse compared to walking level when using a wheeled walker.

Language: en