Abstract:

Purpose: Wearable inertial sensor systems are generally used in the assessment of gait and jump performance in clinics. G- walk is one of these devices however, before using this device for clinical interpretation, the reliability of this device must be defined. The aim of this study was to investigate the test–retest reliability of the G-walk wearable movement analysis sensor system for gait and jump assessments in healthy adults. Methods: Forty-nine healthy volunteers (30 females, 19 males, 23.58±2.65 years of age) participated in the study. The jump and gait parameters of the participants were evaluated using G-walk. The gait parameters were; speed, cadence, stride length, stride duration, stance duration, swing duration, double support, single support and pelvic angles during gait. The maximum height of the following jumps was assessed; counter movement jump, squat jump and countermovement jump with arms thrust. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) method was used for test-retest analysis (p<0.05). Results: All gait parameter measurements had high or excellent test–retest reliability (ICC:0.728-0.969) with the exception of pelvic angles during gait. The assessment of pelvic angles had moderate test–retest reliability (ICC: 0.463-0.659). All of the jump parameters’ measurements had excellent test–retest reliability (ICC: 0.900-0.986). Conclusion: In conclusion, this study shows that the G-walk is a reliable device for assessing gait and jump. Alongside being portable, easy to use and affordable at cost, the G-walk was found to be reliable in measuring gait and jump performance in healthy adults. The study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04310982

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