105 Summary and general discussion To understand the consequences of a health condition on a person’s daily life, the International Classification of Functioning, disability, and health (ICF) is a helpful tool. 1 It classifies the functional consequences of a health condition into three domains: bodily functions and structures, activities, and participation. In addition, the framework illustrates the interactions of the health condition and its functional consequences with environmental and personal factors. Within the ICF, functional gait is reflected in the domains activities (i.e., the range of individual tasks performed) and participation (i.e., the variety of societal roles one is engaged in). 1 The ICF aids in the selection of adequate outcome measures and interventions that align with the needs and wishes of patients. Inspired by the ICF, functional gait comprises three qualifiers: gait capacity, gait performance, and gait perception. 2 Gait capacity refers to what people are able to do in a standardized environment, for example, during a lab-based gait assessment. Gait performance refers to what people habitually do in their own environment (i.e., daily functioning outside formal settings). Both gait capacity and gait performance are recognized qualifiers of functional gait within the ICF. In line with the previous work of Maetzler and colleagues, we here add the qualifier gait perception, which refers to the subjective evaluation of gait by the individual (e.g., gait satisfaction). 2 For these gait qualifiers, three requirements for purposeful walking have been identified by Balasubramanian and colleagues: the coordination of leg and trunk movements for propulsion (stepping), maintaining balance (dynamic balance), and adapting gait to meet environmental demands (adaptability) 3 - see figure 1. Figure 1. Functional gait is reflected by the domains ‘activities’ and ‘participation’ in the International Classification of Functioning, disability, and health (ICF). It comprises three qualifiers: gait capacity, gait performance, and gait perception. For these qualifiers, three requirements have been identified. Inspired by Maetzler et. al. 2 and Balasubramanian et. al. 3 Gait capacity Comfortable gait speed, six-minute walk test, maximum knee flexion during the swing phase, stride length, functional ambulation categories, plantar foot pressure; these are just a small selection of the more than 70 outcome measures used in 7
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