How to Measure Gait Velocity

Gait speed is a key metric when analyzing patients who are either simply elderly or who have suffered from such ailments as stroke or multiple sclerosis. Measuring the velocity of a patient's gait will tell you where he is in the recovery (or disability) process and can indicate the next course of action. In fact, gait speed has been proven to be a predictor of survival rates for older adults.

Things You'll Need

• Stopwatch
• Cones or markers
• Clipboard
• Results chart

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Instructions

• 1

  Mark off a fixed distance, such as 30 feet, with cones or markers, and time the patient walking at her usual rate of speed from about five feet in front of the first mark to about five feet after the second mark.

• 2

  Test the patient again, but this time ask her to walk as fast as she safely can, over the same distance. Write down her usual-rate time and her maximum-rate time.

• 3

  Divide 30 (or whatever distance you chose, in feet) by the times to get gait velocity in feet per second. According to the University of Missouri, a healthy woman in her 40's should walk 3.53 feet per second comfortably, and 5.16 feet per second when trying to attain a maximum speed.