Validity and Reliability of the 12-item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (12-WS) in Subjects With Spinal Cord Injury

Established gait assessments for subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) (6MWT, 10MWT, TUG, SCIM III and WISCI II) are widely used in the clinical and research setting. So far, no valid measurement exists that assesses the patients' perspective of walking ability in SCI. As there is the 12-item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (12-WS) to assess the patients' perspective on gait ability in patients with multiple sclerosis, it is hypothesized that the 12-WS would also be a valid instrument for subjects with incomplete SCI. The main goal of this study is to collect data from clinical gait assessments in subjects with spinal lesions and to demonstrate that the 12-WS is a valid and reliable patient-reported outcome measurement for individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury.