Instrumented Analysis of Spatial Temporal Gait Variability as a Marker of Falls Risk to Assist Clinical Practice: A Brief Review

Spatial temporal gait variability has developed into a measure of interest in clinical gait analysis. It is capable of providing unique insight into rhythmic stability of human gait and may be a sensitive biomarker of falls risk. Several lines of evidence support the use of spatial temporal gait variability as a clinical measures. The purpose of this review is to provide a brief, practical review, of spatial temporal gait variability. This review discusses how gait variability data is obtained, examines previous studies reporting gait variability as a marker of falls in a range of clinical populations and identifies approaches to implement this measure into clinical practice. In summary, it is suggested that spatial temporal gait variability is a sensitive measure of gait function that can assist clinical practice and delivery of therapy services.