Table 3.
Gait parameter improvement by WW in FU and FTU
| Fold improvement by WW | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Total | FU | FTU | Significance | ||
| Main effect | Interaction effect | |||||
| Mean ± SD | Mean ± SD | Mean ± SD | F (p) | |||
| Spatio-temporal gait parameters | n = 106 | n = 62 | n = 44 | |||
| Velocity (cm/s) | x | 1.18 ± 0.29 | 1.25 ± 0.34 | 1.06 ± 0.16 | 44.51 (<0.001) | 10.91 (0.001) |
| Swing time (s) | x | 1.07 ± 0.15 | 1.09 ± 0.17 | 1.04 ± 0.10 | 20.61 (<0.001) | 1.87 (0.174) |
| Stride length (cm) | x | 1.18 ± 0.28 | 1.25 ± 0.32 | 1.08 ± 0.15 | 56.13 (<0.001) | 8.96 (0.003) |
| Stride time variability (% CV) | x | 1.04 ± 1.80 | 1.10 ± 2.28 | 0.95 ± 0.74 | 12.68 (0.001) | 8.63 (0.004) |
| Double support time variability (% CV) | x | 1.04 ± 1.24 | 1.14 ± 1.52 | 0.90 ± 0.68 | 0.31 (0.576 | 0.54 (0.464) |
| Sagittal plane gait parameters | n = 96 | n = 58 | n = 38 | |||
| Toe off angle (°) | x | 1.09 ± 0.14 | 1.12 ± 0.16 | 1.04 ± 0.10 | 32.88 (<0.001) | 6.46 (0.013) |
| Heel strike angle (°) | x | 1.53 ± 2.35 | 1.57 ± 2.8 | 1.45 ± 1.45 | 42.11 (<0.001) | 0.37 (0.544) |
| Max. toe clearance (cm) | x | 1.0 ± 0.24 | 1.05 ± 0.26 | 0.92 ± 0.18 | 3.16 (0.079) | 6.67 (0.011) |
Mean individual fold of change (“x”) by usage of a WW over walk unaided; FTU = first time WW user, FU = frequent WW user; (°) = degree, cm = centimeter, (% CV) = coefficient of variation, calculated by the formula: [CV (%) = SD/Mx100]. F-values (1, 104) and p-values are presented for the main effect = walk unaided v.s. WW walk; Interaction effect = walk unaided v.s. WW walk * FU v.s FTU