Test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change for measures of wearable gait analysis system (G-walk) in children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Background/aim: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most frequent cause of physical disability in childhood. CP causes primary deficits such as impairments in muscle tone, muscle weakness, problems in selective motor control and secondary deficits such as contractures and deformities. These deficits lead to motor disorders during movement causing limitations in gait. Sixty percent of children with CP can walk independently despite these problems, however, they present with various gait abnormalities. Gait analysis is used in the quantitative assessment of gait disturbances providing functional diagnosis, assessment for treatment, planning, and monitoring of progress. G-Walk is a wearable sensor device which provides quantitative gait analysis via spatiotemporal parameters and pelvic girdle angles. In literature, there is no study investigating the reliability of the G-Walk in children with CP. The purpose of this study was to confirm the test-retest reliability of a commercially available body-worn sensor 'BTS G-WALK sensor system' for spatiotemporal gait parameters in children with CP. Materials and methods: Fifty-four children with CP (mean age: 9.19 +/- 3.49 years), Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level I-II completed the test-retest protocol with 5 days between tests. The test-retest reliability was calculated using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Minimal detectable changes were calculated using standard error measurements. Results: According to the analysis, ICC varied from 0.799 to 0.977 in all of the gait parameters. The statistical analysis showed that all G-Walk parameters' measurements were found to have almost perfect test-retest reliability. Conclusion: The G-Walk was found to be reliable in gait parameters for children with CP between ages 5 and 15, in GMFCS level I-II. A gait analysis carried out with the G-Walk system is a reliable method to assess gait in children with CP in a clinical setting.