title: Assessment of gait deviation on the Babinski-Weill test in healthy Brazilians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to validate a simple and reproducible method for assessing gait deviation on the Babinski-Weill test in a representative sample of healthy Brazilians.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gait deviations were measured in 75 individuals (median=30 years, 41 women) for forward, backwards, and Babinski-Weill steps. The test entailed blindfolded individuals walking 10 paces at a frequency of 1 Hz with deviations subsequently measured by a protractor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean gait deviation forward was 0.53° with standard deviation (SD)=4.22 and backwards was 2.14° with SD=4.29. No significant difference in deviation was detected between genders (t test p=0.40 forward and p=0.77 backwards) or for age (ANOVA, p=0.33 forward and p=0.63 backwards). On the Babinski-Weill test, mean gait deviation was 5.26°; SD=16.32 in women and -3.11°; SD=12.41 in men, with no significant difference between genders (t test, p=0.056).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Defining normative gait patterns helps distinguish pathological states.
authors.affiliation: Especialista em Fisioterapia Neurológica, Fisioterapeuta da FMUSP, São PauloSP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camila Souza
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: Camila Piccirilli
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.forename: Márcia Midori
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Morimoto
authors.forename: Maria Elisa Pimentel
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Piemonte
authors.forename: Cristiana Borges
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009462:Neurology / Q000379:methods; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult