WALKING SPEED - REFERENCE VALUES AND CORRELATES FOR OLDER ADULTS

Speed is established as an important aspect oi gait. This research was performed to establish reference values for comfortable and maximal g ait speed and to describe the relationship of selected variables with speed. Apparently healthy men (N = 77) and women (N = 79), age 50-79 y ears, participated Their gait speeds were determined using a stopwatch . The static strength of five lower extremity muscle actions was measu red with a hand-held dynamometer. As gait speed was found to correlate significantly with gender, separate reference values are presented fo r men and women. Muscle strength correlated more highly with maximal g ait speed than with comfortable gait speed. Correlations oi maximal sp eed with strength (except ankle dorsiflexion) were all significant at p < .001. Multiple regression analysis selected gender, body weight, a nd hip flexion strength as the best set of predictors oi both speeds. The speed data presented here may be useful for patient comparisons. T he correlations provide limited support for measuring and treating mus cle strength deficits among the elderly with walking speed limitations .