Assessing walking ability in subjects with spinal cord injury: validity and reliability of 3 walking tests.

Abstract

To assess the validity and reliability of 3 timed walking tests (Timed Up & Go [TUG], 10-meter walk test [10MWT], 6-minute walk test) in subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI). Cross-sectional study and repeated assessments. The SCI center of a university hospital in Switzerland. Validity was assessed by using the data of 75 patients with SCI, and reliability was determined with 22 patients with SCI. Patients performed the timed tests and the Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury II (WISCI II) on the same day. Three measurements within 7 days were taken to assess reliability. The measures were scatterplots, correlation coefficients ( r ), and the Bland-Altman plot. Validity was determined in patients with different walking abilities. Overall, correlation of the 3 timed walking tests was excellent with each other (| r |>.88) and moderate with the WISCI II (| r |>.60). The correlation between the timed tests for patients with poor walking ability remained high (| r |>.70) but decreased in WISCI II (| r |<.35). High correlation coefficients ( r >.97) were found for intra- and interrater reliability. However, TUG and 10MWT reliability were negatively influenced by a poor walking function. The 3 timed tests are valid and reliable measures for assessing walking function in patients with SCI.