Comfortable and maximum walking speed of adults aged 20—79 years: reference values and determinants

• Published in: Age and ageing 1997-01, Vol.26 (1), p.15-19
• Main Author: Bohannon, R W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aging - physiology; Elderly; Exercise; Exercise for the aged; Female; Gait - physiology; Geriatric Assessment; goit; Health aspects; Humans; Male; measurement; Middle Aged; Muscle Contraction - physiology; muscle strength; Physical Fitness - physiology; Reference Values; Walking; Walking - physiology
• ISSN: 0002-0729; 1468-2834
• DOI: 10.1093/ageing/26.1.15

Objectives: to establish reference values for both comfortable and maximum gait speed and to describe the reliability of the gait speed measures and the correlation of selected variables with them. Design: descriptive and cross-sectional. Methods: subjects were 230 healthy volunteers. Gait was timed over a 7.62 m expanse of floor. Actual and height normalized speed were determined. Lower extremity muscle strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer. Results: mean comfortable gait speed ranged from 127.2 cm/s for women in their seventies to 146.2 cm/s for men in their forties. Mean maximum gait speed ranged from 174.9 cm/s for women in their seventies to 253.3 cm/s for men in their twenties. Both gait speed measures were reliable (coefficients 0.903) and correlated significantly with age (r≥ − 0.210). height (r≥0.220) and the strengths of four measured lower extremity muscle actions (r = 0.190-0.500). The muscle action strengths most strongly correlated with gait speed were nondominant hip abduction (comfortable speed) and knee extension (maximum speed). Conclusions: these normative values should give clinicians a reference against which patient performance can be compared in a variety of settings. Gait speed can be expected to be reduced in individuals of greater age and of lesser height and lower extremity muscle strength.