Abstract
The six-minute walk (6MW) has been established as a clinic-based, performance measure
of walking endurance that reflects community ambulation in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Consequently, identifying the contribution of variables to 6MW performance may provide
targets for improving real-life walking in MS, and these variables may differ as a
function of disability. This study examined cadence and stride length as gait variables
that explain differences in 6MW performance between persons with MS and controls,
and by level of disability. 256 community-residing persons with MS and 49 non-MS controls
performed a standard 6MW test and completed 2 trials of comfortable walking on an
electronic walkway for quantifying gait. Regression analyses indicated that cadence
and stride length explain differences in 6MW performance between MS and controls,
and by level of disability in MS. The contribution of cadence and stride length to
walking endurance differed as a function of disability, such that cadence and to a
greater extent stride length explained variance in 6MW performance in mild MS, whereas
cadence and stride length explained approximately an equivalent amount of variance
in 6MW performance in moderate-to-severe MS. We provide evidence for intervention
strategies that are specific to disability level to improve walking endurance in MS.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 19, 2013
Accepted:
July 23,
2013
Received in revised form:
July 9,
2013
Received:
May 22,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Elsevier B.V. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
