Evaluation of Gait Assistive Devices in Patients with Parkinson's Disease

of double support, base of support, and support time) (Bryant et al., 2011). Assistive devices equipped with lasers were developed to improve freezing of gait and step length. Results regarding the effect of four-wheel walkers with lasers have been inconsistent, with one study showing that four-wheel walkers with lasers did not reduce freezing of gait (Cubo et al., 2003) but others suggesting otherwise. To address the inconsis-tency in the results and overcome the limitations of assistive devices, Kegelmeyer, Parthasarathy, Kostyk, White & Kloos (2013) compared the effects of five types of assistive devices (i.e., cane, standard assistive device, two-wheel walker, four-wheel walker, and U-Step walker) on gait parameters in 27 patients with PD. Their findings showed that all of the assistive devices except the four-wheel walkers and U-Step walkers significantly decreased gait speed. Gait variability was lowest with four-wheel walkers and highest with U-Step walkers, suggesting that U-Step walkers are associated with the highest risk of falling. Four-wheel walkers produced consistent improvements in all gait parameters, whereas lasers Objective: There are no guidelines for choosing appropriate gait assistive devices. The aim of this study was to evaluate gait assistive devices in patients with Parkinson's disease. Method: We evaluated 15 individuals with Parkinson's disease who did or did not use one of two different devices including canes and two-wheeled walkers. Data were collected using the GAITRite system. Results: Participants in the group using canes and two-wheeled walkers had significantly increased double support time and decreased gait velocity, normalized gait velocity, and stride length compared with those who did not. Participants who used a two-wheeled walker had significantly decreased gait velocity, normalized gait velocity, and stride length compared with those who used a cane. Furthermore, participants who used a two-wheeled walker had significantly decreased coefficients of variation for step time, stride length, and swing time compared with those who used a cane. Conclusion: Our results indicated that the two-wheeled walker offered the most consistent advantages for decreasing the risk of falling.