Normal walking speed: a descriptive meta-analysis.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review and descriptive meta-analysis of cross-sectional observational normative data
PubMed 21820535 · doi:10.1016/j.physio.2010.12.004
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis across PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Science Citation Index, and hand searches to define normative walking speed. Inclusion required documentation of normal walking pace over a course of 3 to 30 m in apparently healthy adults, with at least 10 participants per decade and gender stratum. Data were independently extracted, confirmed, grouped into strata, and pooled using a meta-analysis macro to assess homogeneity.
What was found
Forty-one articles covering 23,111 subjects were analyzed. Gait speed was homogeneous within age and gender strata, ranging from a mean of 143.4 cm/second in men aged 40 to 49 years to a mean of 94.3 cm/second in women aged 80 to 99 years.
Why it matters
This review establishes consolidated normative reference values for comfortable gait speed stratified by age and gender, offering clinicians benchmarks to identify walking speed limitations.
Limits
The derived standard applies only to straight-line walking between 3 and 30 m; the abstract notes values may not generalize to courses that include turns or short-distance tests initiated immediately on the command 'go'. The definition of 'apparently healthy' depended on individual study criteria.
Cited by
- supports The average human walks at a rate of one mile in 20 minutes.