Assessment of gait deviation on the Babinski-Weill test in healthy Brazilians

Objective The aim of this study was to validate a simple and reproducible method for assessing gait deviation on the Babinski-Weill test in a representative sample of healthy Brazilians. Methods Gait deviations were measured in 75 individuals (median=30 years, 41 women) for forward, backwards, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Camila Souza Miranda, Camila Piccirilli Stefani, Marcia Midori Morimoto, Maria Elisa Pimentel Piemonte, Cristiana Borges Pereira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Thieme Revinter Publicações 2013-09-01
Series:Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0004-282X2013000900615&lng=en&tlng=en
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Summary:Objective The aim of this study was to validate a simple and reproducible method for assessing gait deviation on the Babinski-Weill test in a representative sample of healthy Brazilians. Methods Gait deviations were measured in 75 individuals (median=30 years, 41 women) for forward, backwards, and Babinski-Weill steps. The test entailed blindfolded individuals walking 10 paces at a frequency of 1 Hz with deviations subsequently measured by a protractor. Results Mean gait deviation forward was 0.53° with standard deviation (SD)=4.22 and backwards was 2.14° with SD=4.29. No significant difference in deviation was detected between genders (t test p=0.40 forward and p=0.77 backwards) or for age (ANOVA, p=0.33 forward and p=0.63 backwards). On the Babinski-Weill test, mean gait deviation was 5.26°; SD=16.32 in women and -3.11°; SD=12.41 in men, with no significant difference between genders (t test, p=0.056). Discussion Defining normative gait patterns helps distinguish pathological states.
ISSN:1678-4227