Inter- and intraobserver repeatability of the Salford Gait Tool: an observation-based clinical gait assessment tool.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the inter- and intraobserver repeatability of the Salford Gait Tool (SF-GT), a new observation-based gait assessment tool for evaluating sagittal plane cerebral palsy (CP) gait.

DESIGN

Masked comparative evaluation.

SETTING

University in the United Kingdom.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of 23 pediatric physical therapists with varying degrees of clinical experience recruited from the Greater Manchester area.

INTERVENTION: Participants viewed videotapes of the sagittal plane gait of 13 children and used the SF-GT to analyze their 13 different gait styles on 2 occasions. Eleven children had hemiplegic, diplegic, or quadriplegic CP and 2 were neurologically intact.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Inter- and intraobserver repeatability of hip, knee, and ankle joint positions at 6 different phases of the gait cycle.

RESULTS

The SF-GT demonstrated good interobserver (77%) and intraobserver (75%) repeatability.

CONCLUSIONS

We have established that the SF-GT is a repeatable clinical assessment tool with which to guide the diagnosis, treatment planning, and evaluation of interventions by pediatric physical therapists of sagittal plane gait deviations in CP.