Gait speed is a well-established surrogate endpoint to manyclinical studies and has, specifically in geriatric evaluations,been shown to correlate with various medical compromisedconditions and even patient survival.1,2 In a recent publication,Piau et al. could identify a decline in walking speed3 months prior to actually suffering from a fall event showingthe high relevance of walking speed as indicator for functionalimpairment or even impending injuries.3 In the elderly,each 10th fall results in a major trauma such as a fracture.4Such observations illustrate the significance of changes in gaitspeed as indicator for progression of neuro-musculoskeletaldegeneration. While gait speed is an indicator, the underlyingbiomechanical mechanisms that relate such speed toneuro-musculoskeletal degeneration remain elusive andhow gait speed indirectly or eventually directly affects overallpatient conditions and survival remains unknown.
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