OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the repeatability of spatiotemporal gait parameters by means of a comparative study between normal children and children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHODS: The sample consisted of 17 children divided into two groups: a group of nine children with spastic hemiplegia CP and a group of eight normal children. The children were evaluated by the same researcher in two different sessions, with a one-week interval between the sessions. The children walked at self-selected velocities, and six attempts were performed at each session to represent the average. To record the spatiotemporal parameters, the Peak Motus system was used with two SVHS video cameras with an acquisition rate of 60 Hz. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman concordance limits were chosen for data analysis. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the children with CP presented lower velocity and shorter cycles than the normal children in sessions 1 and 2. For all the spatiotemporal parameters, the two groups presented moderate to excellent ICC values, i.e. greater than 0.70. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the two groups presented good levels of repeatability for all the parameters analyzed when six attempts were used to represent the average.
gait; children; cerebral palsy; repeatability
