Department of Physical Therapy Faculty Articles

Clinometric Properties of the Six-Minute Walk Test in Individuals Undergoing Rehabilitation Poststroke

Publication Title

Physiotherapy Theory and Practice

ISSN

1532-5040

Publication Date

5-2008

Keywords

Dependent Ambulation, Disability Evaluation, Recovery of Function, Reproducibility of Results, Stroke Rehabilitation

Abstract

The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is commonly used to measure walking ability. The purpose of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability and concurrent and construct validity of the 6MWT in patients who were actively undergoing inpatient rehabilitation poststroke. Thirty-seven patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation after a stroke participated; mean age was 66.3 years and mean time since stroke was 33.7 days. Patients underwent two 6MWT trials with 1-3 days between trials. Additional outcome measures taken were gait speed and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The 6MWT exhibited high test-retest reliability; ICC(2,1) 0.973 (95% CI=0.925-0.988) and a minimal detectable change (MDC(90)) of 54.1 m. The 6MWT was strongly to moderately correlated with gait speed (r=0.89), locomotion (walk) FIM (r=0.69), and motor FIM (r=0.52). The 6MWT is a clinically useful measure of walking ability poststroke. It is reliable and is related to other measures of walking ability and function that are commonly used during rehabilitation after stroke.

DOI

10.1080/09593980701588284

Volume

24

Issue

3

First Page

195

Last Page

204

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

This document is currently not available here.

Peer Reviewed

Find in your library

Share

COinS