Test-retest reliability of spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic measures in marker-based 3D gait analysis: A systematic review.

Brian Horsak; Andreas Kranzl; Djordje Slijepcevic; Martin Svehlik; Bernhard Dumphart

doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2026.110270

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Test-retest reliability of spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic measures in marker-based 3D gait analysis: A systematic review.

Brian Horsak·Andreas Kranzl·Djordje Slijepcevic·Martin Svehlik·Bernhard Dumphart

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Marker-based 3D gait analysis (3DGA) is widely used to quantify impairments and evaluate treatment effects. For longitudinal clinical interpretation, clinicians and researchers need reference values for inter-session measurement error. For this purpose, this systematic review synthesized Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) values for spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic (moments) outcomes obtained from marker-based 3DGA studies. METHODS: PubMed and Scopus were searched (final search: 11 December 2025). Studies reporting inter-session test-retest SEM and/or MDC for steady-state overground or treadmill walking using marker-based motion capture were included. Two authors screened records and appraised methodological/reporting quality using a custom tool informed by COSMIN, GRRAS, and biomechanics-specific items. Due to heterogeneity, results were synthesized descriptively using study-level median SEM values, stratified by joint, plane, population (healthy, pathological, single subgroups), and walking condition. Minimal Detectable Change (MDC) values were computed for all available data. RESULTS: Thirty-four studies (762 participants, 44.2% females) were included, with substantially more evidence for overground than treadmill walking. Overground spatiotemporal outcomes showed low errors (walking speed SEM of 0.06 m/s; timing typically ≤0.03 s; spatial parameters generally ≤0.03 m). For joint kinematics during overground walking, median SEMs were 2.4° (sagittal), 1.9° (frontal), and 3.3° (transverse). The corresponding joint-kinetic SEMs were approximately 0.06, 0.04, and 0.03 Nm/kg, respectively. Treadmill data followed similar patterns. SIGNIFICANCE: Marker-based 3DGA allows for accurate assessment of spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic gait features. We provided detailed SEM/MDC lookup tables to support clinical decision-making. Results further offer a benchmark for validating emerging gait assessment technologies (e.g., markerless systems) against realistic limits of marker-based 3DGA.

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Humans Biomechanical Phenomena Gait Analysis Motion Capture Reproducibility of Results Imaging, Three-Dimensional Kinetics Gait Measurement error Minimal detectable change Motion capture Pre-post analysis Repeatability Standard error of measurement Journal Article Systematic Review Review

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Brian Horsak, Andreas Kranzl, Djordje Slijepcevic, Martin Svehlik, Bernhard Dumphart. 2026-06-29. Test-retest reliability of spatiotemporal, kinematic, and kinetic measures in marker-based 3D gait analysis: A systematic review.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2026.110270

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Biomechanical Phenomena subject Humans subject Imaging, Three-Dimensional subject Journal Article subject Journal Article; Systematic Review; Review resource Systematic reviews study

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