OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the inter- and intraobserver repeatability of the Salford Gait Tool (SF-GT), a new observation-based gait assessment tool for evaluating sagittal plane cerebral palsy (CP) gait. DESIGN: Masked comparative evaluation. SETTING: University in the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 23 pediatric physical therapists with varying degrees of clinical experience recruited from the Greater Manchester area. INTERVENTION: Participants viewed videotapes of the sagittal plane gait of 13 children and used the SF-GT to analyze their 13 different gait styles on 2 occasions. Eleven children had hemiplegic, diplegic, or quadriplegic CP and 2 were neurologically intact. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Inter- and intraobserver repeatability of hip, knee, and ankle joint positions at 6 different phases of the gait cycle. RESULTS: The SF-GT demonstrated good interobserver (77%) and intraobserver (75%) repeatability. CONCLUSIONS: We have established that the SF-GT is a repeatable clinical assessment tool with which to guide the diagnosis, treatment planning, and evaluation of interventions by pediatric physical therapists of sagittal plane gait deviations in CP.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the inter- and intraobserver repeatability of the Salford Gait Tool (SF-GT), a new observation-based gait assessment tool for evaluating sagittal plane cerebral palsy (CP) gait. DESIGN: Masked comparative evaluation. SETTING: University in the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 23 pediatric physical therapists with varying degrees of clinical experience recruited from the Greater Manchester area. INTERVENTION: Participants viewed videotapes of the sagittal plane gait of 13 children and used the SF-GT to analyze their 13 different gait styles on 2 occasions. Eleven children had hemiplegic, diplegic, or quadriplegic CP and 2 were neurologically intact. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Inter- and intraobserver repeatability of hip, knee, and ankle joint positions at 6 different phases of the gait cycle. RESULTS: The SF-GT demonstrated good interobserver (77%) and intraobserver (75%) repeatability. CONCLUSIONS: We have established that the SF-GT is a repeatable clinical assessment tool with which to guide the diagnosis, treatment planning, and evaluation of interventions by pediatric physical therapists of sagittal plane gait deviations in CP.
Authors: Andrea S Fokkens; Johan W Groothoff; Jac J L van der Klink; Roel Popping; Roy E Stewart; Lex van de Ven; Sandra Brouwer; Jolanda Tuinstra Journal: J Occup Rehabil Date: 2015-09