Rollator use does not consistently change the metabolic cost of walking in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: To (1) evaluate whether the use of a rollator changed metabolic cost during a controlled walking task, and (2) explore relationships between the difference in dyspnea and metabolic cost associated with rollator use.

Design: Single-group interventional study in which patients completed 2 corridor walks: 1 without and 1 with a rollator, at the same individualized constant speed.

Setting: Rehabilitation hospital.

The 6-min walk test: responses in healthy Canadians aged 45 to 85 years.

We sought to describe responses to the 6-min walk test (6MWT) in healthy Canadian adults in order to facilitate interpretation of its results in patient populations. Seventy-seven healthy Canadians aged 45 to 85 years (65 ± 11 years, 40 females) completed this study. During a single visit, three 6MWTs were undertaken.

Modifying track layout from straight to circular has a modest effect on the 6-min walk distance.

Background: The protocol used for the 6-min walk test (6MWT) influences its results. The only study to examine the effect of modifying track layout performed a retrospective analysis and concluded that institutions using continuous tracks yield greater distances than those using straight tracks. Agreement between the distances measured on different tracks could not be examined.