A team of researchers investigated the test-retest validity and reliability of the 3-Meter Backward Walk Test (3MBWT) in high-functioning adults with lower-limb amputations and also looked at the minimal detectable change and the cutoff time of the assessment. They concluded that the 3MBWT was a valid, reliable, and easy-to-apply tool that is a useful and practical measurement for dynamic balance in the studied population.
Thirty adults with lower-limb amputations and 29 without amputations made up the testing groups. The Modified Fall Efficacy Score, Rivermead Mobility Index, and Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) with the 3MBWT were used to evaluate the concurrent validity of the 3MBWT.
The second evaluation (retest) was performed by the same physiotherapist one week after the first evaluation (test). The validity was assessed by correlating the 3MBWT times with the scores of other measures and by comparing the 3MBWT times between the groups.
The results indicated that the test-retest reliability of the 3MBWT was excellent, according to the study’s authors. A moderate correlation was found between the 3MBWT, Modified Fall Efficacy Score, TUG, and Rivermead Mobility Index. Significant differences in the 3MBWT times were found between adults with lower-limb amputations and healthy controls. The cutoff time of 3.11 seconds discriminated healthy adults from high functional level adults with lower-limb amputations.
The study, “Investigation of the validity and reliability of the 3-meter backward walk test in high functional level adults with lower limb amputation,” was published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International.
