A walking test can help your doctor determine whether symptoms are improving or getting worse. There are different types of walking tests to assess for various symptoms.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that causes your immune system to attack the protective covering of your nerves. It affects people differently, causing mild to moderate symptoms in some and more severe symptoms in others.
Since MS can progress and become debilitating—and treatment can help prevent progression— it’s important to keep in regular contact with your care team, even if you have mild symptoms. This allows them to monitor your health and level of disability.
Doctors and therapists who take care of people with MS use walking tests to gauge MS progression and disability. This test can include walking for a certain distance or time or a 12-item walking questionnaire.
The results of these tests also help doctors assess the effectiveness of therapy.
A walking test involves walking a certain distance with or without an assistive device. Your doctor will time how long it takes you to get from point A to point B.
Walking requires you to use your vision, sensation, strength, coordination, and balance. That’s why walking tests are often used to gauge MS progression, as this skill incorporates many different functions. In addition to a walking test, your doctor will also individually check your vision, strength, sensation, and coordination.
A slower walking speed often suggests limited mobility, which could be a predictor of disability in the long term.
Your doctor will compare your speed with a standard walking speed for your age. Understanding your current abilities will help determine the appropriate treatment route for you.
Your doctor will also compare your results with the results of your prior tests to see whether they have changed over time. This can help them evaluate whether your treatment is effective or needs to be adjusted.
MS treatment focuses on reducing inflammation in the central nervous system. This can slow the progression of the condition and significantly improve symptoms.
Achieving symptom reduction often involves the use of medications that modify the condition, disease-modifying therapies to reduce inflammation, and immunosuppressant medications to suppress the immune system.
Several types of walking tests are available to assess your MS symptom progression. The most common ones include a 10-meter, a timed 25-foot, and a 6-meter walking test.
10-meter walking test
Your doctor may recommend a 10-meter walking test. This allows them to assess functional mobility, as well as your gait.
These walk tests are typical with MS and other conditions like Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and spinal cord injuries.
You’ll be instructed to walk 10 meters (about 32 feet). You can even use a cane or walker, although your doctor will document the level of assistance. They will note whether you need:
- minimal assistance
- no assistance
- moderate assistance
The amount of time it takes you to walk 10 meters helps your doctor better understand the extent of your condition.
25-foot timed walking test
Your doctor might also suggest a timed 25-foot walking test, sometimes shortened to T25FW or T25-FW.
This walking test is slightly different because it involves walking 25 feet as quickly as you can, with or without an assistive device.
For this test, you’ll start on a marked 25-foot course. The test starts once you take the first step, and stops once your foot hits the 25-foot mark. You will likely walk 25 feet in one direction, and 25 feet back to the starting point.
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the 25-foot timed walking test is part of the multiple sclerosis functional composite (MSFC), an assessment in three parts that healthcare professionals can use to track progression.
Another test, the timed 500-meter walk (T500MW), may also be used as part of the expanded disability status scale (EDSS).
6-meter walking test
An alternative to the 10-meter and 25-foot walk test is the 6-meter walking test.
The concept behind this walking test is the same as the others — you start at a designated marker and walk a distance (in this case, 6 meters) as fast as you can. Your doctor tracks how long it takes to walk a shorter distance.
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Another method of evaluation is the 12-item multiple sclerosis walking scale (MSWS-12).
According to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the MSWS-12 involves a self-report you’ll complete regarding how much MS is currently affecting your ability to walk.
Questions focus on speed and:
- climbing stairs
- balance
- the use of supports
- the overall effort needed for walking
Each answer on the report receives a number value, which is combined to give an overall score that reflects how severely your walking is currently impacted.
Because MS affects people differently, a walking test is one way for doctors to determine the condition’s progression and assess whether a particular treatment is working.
It’s perfectly fine to have several different types of walking tests, but when it comes to monitoring progression, you need to have the same type of walking test consecutively so you and your doctor or therapist can compare changes in the same walking test over time.
An inability to walk quickly for short distances also points to physical or functional limitations that might qualify you for supplemental disability insurance. Or it might suggest a need to switch occupations or consider other rehabilitation.
Walking tests have the benefit of being inexpensive and easy to implement, making them a useful tool for doctors to evaluate your current status.
Although effective, a walking test isn’t the only way to measure disability and MS progression.
Doctors must take other factors into consideration, too. This includes whether you have other conditions — like arthritis or chronic back pain — that might slow your walking speed.
They can also consider age. Younger adults with MS may walk at a faster speed than older adults with MS.
The bottom line is that walking tests provide clues about mobility. But you shouldn’t rely solely on results from conducting your own test at home. Schedule an appointment with a doctor for an accurate walking test.
Your doctor can track your progress over time. They can use your initial walk test as a benchmark and subsequent tests to calculate whether your walking time increases or decreases.
Due to the progressive nature of MS, your walking speed can gradually decline without you realizing it.
Alternatively, your walking speed may improve with successful treatment. Your doctor can also evaluate other factors that may cause changes to your walking test.
Walking tests don’t take a lot of time to complete. You can usually finish one in under 10 minutes, and the testing is likely covered under health insurance.
MS can be debilitating, yet the right treatment and lifestyle changes may improve your symptoms and your daily life experiences.
Schedule regular follow-up appointments with your doctor for evaluations like walking tests. This will help you work together to:
- track your symptoms
- look for signs of the condition’s progression
- adjust your treatment as necessary