Different instructions during the ten-meter walking test determined significant increases in maximum gait speed in individuals with chronic hemiparesis.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of different instructions for the assessment of maximum walking speed during the ten-meter walking test with chronic stroke subjects.

Methods: Participants were instructed to walk under four experimental conditions: (1) comfortable speed, (2) maximum speed (simple verbal command), (3) maximum speed (modified verbal command--"catch a bus") and (4) maximum speed (verbal command + demonstration). Participants walked three times in each condition and the mean time to cover the intermediate 10 meters of a 14-meter corridor was registered to calculate the gait speed (m/s).