Identification of the spatiotemporal and observational gait characteristics of adults with frontal gait apraxia

Abstract

This study aimed to characterise the gait pattern of people with frontal gait apraxia (FGA) using spatiotemporal measures and observational data. Describing the footstep patterns of people with FGA may assist clinicians in identifying this gait disorder and in developing and evaluating interventions. The GAITRite® system was used to measure the gait speed, step length, cadence, base width, step time and swing time of 9 people with FGA (7 men, 2 women) and 9 gender, age and height matched controls at (i) preferred walking speed, (ii) fast walking speed and (iii) preferred speed of the matched participant with FGA. A video system was used to record episodes of freezing, amplitude of arm swing, level of foot clearance and the participant's posture during walking. Participants had a mean age of 84.0 years, mean height of 167.2 cm and mean MMSE score of 28.3.