Concurrent validity of the 10-meter walk test as compared with the 6-minute walk test in patients with spinal cord injury at various levels of ability.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional design.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the concurrent validity of the 10-meter walk test (10MWT) as compared with the 6-minute walk test (6MinWT) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) at various levels of walking ability, as determined using the criteria from the functional independence measure locomotor (FIM-L) scores.

SETTING

A major tertiary referral hospital in Thailand.

METHODS

Ninety-four independent ambulatory subjects with SCI (FIM-L scores 5-7) were assessed for their functional abilities using the 10MWT and 6MinWT.

RESULTS

The data of the 10MWT and the 6MinWT had excellent correlation in subjects with FIM-L 7 (r=0.83, P<0.001), good correlation in subjects with FIM-L 6 (r=0.74, P<0.001), but poor correlation in subjects with FIM-L 5 (r=0.31, P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

The 6MinWT is a thorough assessment to reflect functional endurance, but it requires a long time and a large area to administer. The findings confirm the utility of the 10MWT as an alternative monitoring tool to the 6MinWT, but only for the patients with rather good walking ability.