Measurement Properties of Mechanical Cost of Walking for Individuals With Walking Impairment

March 20, 2026 updated by: Christina Garrity, University of Cincinnati

Walking impairment following neurologic injury can increase the energy cost of walking threefold, acting as a functional barrier to independence. The goal of this cross-sectional study is to determine the measurement properties of a novel biomechanical cost of walking measure in chronic stroke capable of pinpointing the origins of movement inefficiencies. This research aims to:

  1. determine the convergent validity of biomechanical cost of walking with functional measures in relation to metabolic cost of walking,
  2. determine the reliability of biomechanical cost of walking in relation to metabolic cost of walking,
  3. determine the responsiveness of biomechanical cost of walking in relation to metabolic cost of walking.

Individuals with walking impairment from stroke will complete three 5-minute comfortable speed treadmill walking trials. The 3rd walking trial will be against resistance to increase cost of walking. This single session study will compare the metric properties of biomechanical cost of walking in relation to metabolic cost of walking.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

18

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Ohio
      • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45206
        • Recruiting
        • University of Cincinnati - Digital Futures
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 30-80 years at the time of consent
  • Hemiparesis from ischemic and/or hemorrhagic strokes
  • Most recent stroke for which participant sought treatment, at least 3 months prior to study consent
  • Walking speed <1.0 m/s on the 10-meter walk test
  • Able to walk 10m over ground with assistive devices as needed
  • Able to walk at least 5 minutes continuously on the treadmill ≥ 0.1 mile per hour
  • No contraindications to exercise according to ACSM guidelines
  • Able to communicate with investigators, follow a 2-step command and correctly answer consent comprehension questions

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Hospitalization for cardiac or pulmonary disease within past 3 months
  • Implanted pacemaker or defibrillator
  • Severe lower limb hypertonia (Ashworth >2)
  • Foot drop or lower limb joint instability without adequate stabilizing device
  • Clinically significant neurologic disorder other than stroke
  • Other significant medical condition likely to jeopardize safety (e.g. joint contracture, gait limited by pain)
  • Pregnancy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treadmill walking with and without resistance
Behavioral: Resisted walking
Comfortable speed treadmill walking with resisted forward progression.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Constituent Lower Extremity Work
Time Frame: 1st minute and 5th minute of resisted walking trial versus non-resisted walking trial.
Energy expenditure calculated using biomechanical variables such as force and limb motion
1st minute and 5th minute of resisted walking trial versus non-resisted walking trial.
Metabolic Cost of Walking
Time Frame: 1st minute and 5th minute of resisted walking trial versus non-resisted walking trial.
Energy expenditure calculated using oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production
1st minute and 5th minute of resisted walking trial versus non-resisted walking trial.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Cincinnati

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Christina Garrity, DPT, University of Cincinnati

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

April 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 20, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 20, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2024-0863-03

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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