Self-paced Treadmills Prohibit Valid Gait Observation in Patients With Parkinson Disease

Treadmills, even self-paced models, do not allow for accurate observation of gait variability in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), according to study results published online ahead of print in Gait & Posture.

“The large systematic and random errors between overground and treadmill walking prohibit meaningful gait variability observations in patients with Parkinson disease using self-paced or constant-speed treadmills,” reported researchers from Chapman University in California.

Faculty from the departments of physical therapy and engineering conducted the study to evaluate whether self-paced treadmills, which adjust belt speed to align with a user’s walking speed and strength, would be helpful for measuring gait variability in people with PD. The study included 13 patients and 13 healthy controls whose gait variability was assessed in three conditions: walking on the ground, walking on a treadmill at a consistent speed, and walking on treadmill set to self-paced modes.

For patients with PD, all treadmill conditions demonstrated substantial error for stride time and length variability, according to the study.

“Parkinson disease variability is masked due to walking on constant speed and self-paced treadmills,” researchers wrote.

Compared with constant treadmill modes, self-paced modes provided less error for stride time but not for stride length, researchers reported. Among healthy controls, measurement errors associated with treadmill walking were less substantial.

Reference:
Rohafza M, Soangra R, Smith JA, Ignasiak NK. Self-paced treadmills do not allow for valid observation of linear and nonlinear gait variability outcomes in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Gait Posture. 2021 Oct 7;91:35-41. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2021.10.008