Efficacy of walking aids on self‐paced outdoor walking in individuals with COPD : A randomized cross‐over trial

Background and objective Walking aids, such as rollator or draisine, improve mobility and functional exercise performance in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) during an indoor 6‐min walk test. However, this test does not reflect everyday walking, which is the most frequently reported problematic activity of daily life in individuals with COPD . To date, efficacy of walking aids during self‐paced outdoor walking remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to determine the efficacy of a rollator and draisine on self‐paced outdoor walking in individuals with COPD . Methods Fifteen individuals with COPD (68% men; age: 63 ± 8 years; forced expiratory volume in 1 s: 40 ± 14% predicted) performed three self‐paced outdoor walking tests on two consecutive days: test 1 unaided, and tests 2 and 3 with rollator or draisine in random order. Participants had to walk as long as possible at their own pace. The test ended when participants needed to stop, with a maximum duration of 30 min. Results The use of rollator resulted in the highest walk distance and time ( P  < 0.05 vs unaided and draisine). Furthermore, individuals with COPD walked significantly further and longer during an unaided test compared with a draisine aided test ( P  < 0.05). Moreover, use of draisine resulted in a significantly higher walking speed, fewer strides, greater stride length, and higher step and stride variability ( P  < 0.05 vs unaided and rollator). Conclusion To conclude, a rollator improves the self‐paced outdoor walk distance and time in individuals with moderate and advanced COPD and a poor functional exercise capacity, whereas the use of a draisine had a detrimental effect compared with unaided walking.