6-MWT

By: Bryan Lilisa

What is the 6MWT?
Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) - is a sub-maximal exercise test used to assess walking endurance and aerobic capacity. The 6
minute walk test is a very convenient and efficient tool to execute for different population to examine gait ability. It is not only
very convenient and low cost but it also can be reproducible anywhere as well as requiring no reading ability. It explores one’s
cardiopulmonary ability, experimenting how they respond to ambulating in prolonged distance.

Populations it is used for :

● stroke
● spinal injuries
● pulmonary diseases
● PD
● OA
● Older adults and Geriatric Care
● MS
● Alzheimer's Disease
● Progressive Dementia
● Brain Injury
● Arthritis and mixed populations
Equipment
• Stopwatch
• Chair
• Measuring instrument (rolling measurement wheel in feet or meters)
• At least a 12 meter long hallway or open area (e.g., quiet gym) with a smooth, consistent surface
• Markings to indicate turnaround (e.g.: cones)
• Mechanical lap counter or pencil and paper
• Less than 10 minutes
Instructions
● A chair should be placed at one end.
● Prior to administering the measure, the patient should be sitting in a chair, rested, near the starting point of the test
● Please review any contraindications and take resting vital signs [e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level, Borg Rate
of Perceived Exertion, etc.] as indicated
● Participants will walk around the perimeter of a set circuit for a total of six minutes
● Do not stop clock when taking rest breaks
● Document if patient performed with AD

Instructions to the patient in sitting:

“The aim of this test is to walk as far as possible in six minutes.
You will walk back and forth in the hallway.
Six minutes is a long time to walk, so you will be exerting yourself.
You may get out of breath or become tired.
You are allowed to slow down, to stop, and to rest as necessary.
You may stand and rest, but resume walking as soon as you are able.
Are you ready to do that?”
Scoring
There are normative data for each
populations.

The score of the test is the distance a

patient walks in 6 minutes
(measured in meters and can round to
the nearest decimal point).
Factors
● Rest periods
● Performing the test before
● Age
● Height
● High motivation
● Words of encouragement “ keep up the good work”, “you're doing well”
● Walking in a smaller area
How we performed the test
Placed a chair in the starting line

Provided instructions to the patient

We chose a portion of the gym to execute the measure

We performed the test on the side of the gym about 6 meters or 20 ft

At every turn I made a tally and at the end we summed up all the turns

The patient was given words of encouragement but was minimally distracted by her
talking
Evidence
The 6MWT has a statistically high reproducibility and validity. In “Reliability, Validity and Minimal Detectable Change of 2-Minute

Walk Test, 6-Minute Walk Test and 10-Meter Walk Test in Frail Older Adults With Dementia.” all three samples, the study showed

outstanding test-retest very close numbers as well as excellent inter-rater reliability. The results of the walk experiments were highly

correlated. The correlations of all walk tests and measures of function were moderate but were able to distinguish between those who are

capable of walking closed or open environments with consistent cues. Which concluded the 2MWT, 6MWT, and 10MeWT are both true

and accurate tests for assessing the walking ability of older people with dementia.
How to perform the 6MWT
Results
The results of the 6MWT with the patient went unexpected.

The patient did not reach her functional distance for her age range.

She showed up as severely limited in ambulation function for normative values of her age group.

The patient did not show any difficulty performing the test and did not take breaks.

The patient scored a 710 ft or 216 m distance reached at the end of the test..

The normative range for her age and gender is 1155 - 1620 ft or 352 - 494 m.

My CI and I did not make any changes to the patient’s care that day due to time limitations.

In the next PT sessions, we continued her PT program and addressed her pain as well as progressing some of her activities

to improve her aerobic conditioning.

 WORK CITED
Chen YC;Chen KC;Lu LH;Wu YL;Lai TJ;Wang CH;. (2018, October). Validating the 6-minute walk test as an indicator of recovery in
patients undergoing cardiac surgery: A prospective cohort study. National Library of Medicine.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30335028/

Lee, M. (2018, March 31). Validity of the 6-minute walk test and step test for evaluation of cardio respiratory fitness in patients with
type 2 diabetes mellitus. Physical Activity and Nutrition. https://www.e-pan.org/journal/view.php?number=77

TW;, C. (2018, November 10). Reliability, validity and minimal detectable change of 2-minute walk test, 6-minute walk test and 10-
METER walk test in FRAIL older adults with dementia. National Library of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30423359/

Uszko-Lencer NHMK;Mesquita R;Janssen E;Werter C;Brunner-La Rocca HP;Pitta F;Wouters EFM;Spruit MA;. (2017, February 28).
Reliability, construct validity and determinants OF 6-minute walk test performance in patients with chronic heart failure. National
Library of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28377186/