Stepping After Stroke: Walking Characteristics in People With Chronic Stroke Differ on the Basis of Walking Speed, Walking Endurance, and Daily Steps

Abstract

Background: What contributes to free-living walking after stroke is poorly understood. Studying the characteristics of walking may provide further details that guide interventions.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine how the walking characteristics of bouts per day, median steps per bout, maximum steps per bout, and time spent walking differ in individuals with various walking speeds, walking endurance, and daily steps and to identify cutoffs for differentiating ambulators who were active versus inactive.

Design: This study involved a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Locomotor Experience Applied Post-Stroke trial.

Methods: Participants were categorized by walking speed, walking endurance (via the 6-minute walk test), and daily steps (via 2 consecutive days of objective activity monitoring). Differences in walking characteristics were assessed. Linear regression determined which characteristics predicted daily step counts. Receiver operating characteristic curves and areas under the curve were used to determine which variable was most accurate in classifying individuals who were active (≥5500 daily steps).

Results: This study included 252 participants with chronic stroke. Regardless of categorization by walking speed, walking endurance, or daily steps, household ambulators had significantly fewer bouts per day, steps per bout, and maximum steps per bout and spent less time walking compared with community ambulators. The areas under the curve for maximum steps per bout and bouts per day were 0.91 (95% confidence interval = 0.88 to 0.95) and 0.83 (95% confidence interval = 0.78 to 0.88), respectively, with cutoffs of 648 steps and 53 bouts being used to differentiate active and inactive ambulation.

Limitations: Activity monitoring occurred for only 2 days.

Conclusions: Walking characteristics differed based on walking speed, walking endurance, and daily steps. Differences in daily steps between household and community ambulators were largely due to shorter and fewer walking bouts. Assessing and targeting walking bouts may prove useful for increasing stepping after stroke.