Repeatability of the timed 25-foot walk test for individuals with multiple sclerosis

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a practice effect present in the timed 25-foot walk in ambulatory individuals with multiple sclerosis. Design: Thirty six people (30 women and 6 men) diagnosed with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis participated in two testing sessions, one week apart. Each participant performed two sequential trials of the timed 25-foot walk test per session and the walk performance was measured with a laser timing system. Results: We observed improvements in walking speed between the two trials of session one (trial one: 6.42 (0.09) vs. trail two: 5.97 (0.08) seconds, p < 0.001). Within session two, performance remained stable (trial three: 5.71 (0.07) vs. trial four: 5.63 (0.07) seconds, p > 0.05). We also observed a significant improvement in walking speed when averages of the two trials were compared across sessions (session 1: 6.19 (0.09) vs. session 2: 5.67 (0.07) seconds, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Based on our results, familiarization of the timed 25-foot walk test improves stability of walk performance scores in ambulatory individuals with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.