Establishing Normative Height-Normalized Gait Speed in Indian Young Adults: Influence of Indoor and Outdoor Environments

Authors

  • Harshitha Kolibailu Postgraduate Student, Department of Movement Science, JSS College of Physiotherapy, Mysuru, Karnataka, India
  • Saritha K Francis Associate Postgraduate Student, Department of Movement Science,  JSS College of Physiotherapy, Mysuru, Karnataka, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37506/1n3gy042

Keywords:

gait speed, height-normalization, normative data, 10-meter walk test, environmental influence

Abstract

Objective: The Primary objective is to establish normative data for height-normalised gait speed in healthy younger adults aged 18-25. The secondary objective is to assess the impact of environmental conditions on gait speed.

Methods: A cross‐sectional observational study was conducted in Mysuru using convenience sampling. A total of 316 healthy participants underwent the 10-meter walk test in both indoor and outdoor settings. Descriptive statistics were used to derive normative values, while paired and independent t-tests compared indoor versus outdoor speeds and examined gender differences, respectively.

Results: Indoor gait speed ranged from 0.85 to 0.92 m/sec, while outdoor gait speed ranged from 0.91 to 0.96 m/sec. Gait speed was significantly higher outdoors (p<0.001), with no significant gender difference (p>0.005)

Conclusion:  This study establishes height-normalized gait speed for young Indian adults in outdoor and indoor environments and shows that environmental conditions significantly influence gait speed.

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Author Biographies

  • Harshitha Kolibailu, Postgraduate Student, Department of Movement Science, JSS College of Physiotherapy, Mysuru, Karnataka, India

    Postgraduate Student, Department of Movement Science, JSS College of Physiotherapy, 
    Mysuru, Karnataka, India

  • Saritha K Francis, Associate Postgraduate Student, Department of Movement Science,  JSS College of Physiotherapy, Mysuru, Karnataka, India

    Associate Postgraduate Student, Department of Movement Science,  JSS College of Physiotherapy, Mysuru, Karnataka, India

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Published

2026-01-07

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 1 (2026): Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy

Section

Original Article

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Harshitha Kolibailu, Saritha K Francis

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Establishing Normative Height-Normalized Gait Speed in Indian Young Adults: Influence of Indoor and Outdoor Environments. (2026). Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy - An International Journal, 20(1), 61-67. https://doi.org/10.37506/1n3gy042