Alon Kalron1. 1. Department of Physical Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel; Multiple Sclerosis Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. Electronic address: alkalron@gmail.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: An alternative method suggested to assess changes in walking in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) is evaluating gait variability. This is a credible option since gait variability reflects to some degree the quality of gait control. OBJECTIVE: Examine the impact of disability on gait variability in PwMS. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the data pool was divided into seven levels of disability based on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, ranging from 0 to 6.5. Gait variability was studied using an electronic mat. RESULTS: The final analysis included 381 PwMS (249 women); mean age 44.0years. Non-significant differences were observed between the EDSS subgroups at the lower end of the spectrum (EDSS 0-3.5) in all gait variability parameters. In contrast, PwMS in the EDSS 5.0-5.5 group demonstrated a significant increase in variability of step length (~151%), single support (~93%) and step time (142%) compared with those who scored 0-3.5. Moreover, participants in the EDSS 5.0-5.5 group had elevated step length variability compared to the EDSS 4.0-4.5 group (9.3 (S.E.=2.2) vs. 5.5 (S.E.=0.4), P-value=0.005). CONCLUSION: We encourage clinicians to follow-up on the gait variability score as it appears to reflect mobility deterioration in PwMS.
BACKGROUND: An alternative method suggested to assess changes in walking in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) is evaluating gait variability. This is a credible option since gait variability reflects to some degree the quality of gait control. OBJECTIVE: Examine the impact of disability on gait variability in PwMS. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the data pool was divided into seven levels of disability based on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, ranging from 0 to 6.5. Gait variability was studied using an electronic mat. RESULTS: The final analysis included 381 PwMS (249 women); mean age 44.0years. Non-significant differences were observed between the EDSS subgroups at the lower end of the spectrum (EDSS 0-3.5) in all gait variability parameters. In contrast, PwMS in the EDSS 5.0-5.5 group demonstrated a significant increase in variability of step length (~151%), single support (~93%) and step time (142%) compared with those who scored 0-3.5. Moreover, participants in the EDSS 5.0-5.5 group had elevated step length variability compared to the EDSS 4.0-4.5 group (9.3 (S.E.=2.2) vs. 5.5 (S.E.=0.4), P-value=0.005). CONCLUSION: We encourage clinicians to follow-up on the gait variability score as it appears to reflect mobility deterioration in PwMS.
Authors: Mikaela L Frechette; Brett M Meyer; Lindsey J Tulipani; Reed D Gurchiek; Ryan S McGinnis; Jacob J Sosnoff Journal: Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep Date: 2019-09-04 Impact factor: 5.081
Authors: Pedro Moreno-Navarro; Ramón Gomez-Illán; Carmen Carpena-Juan; Ángel P Sempere; Francisco J Vera-Garcia; David Barbado Journal: J Clin Med Date: 2020-05-08 Impact factor: 4.241