Gait analysis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review

A convincing mechanistic link between such gait impairments and falls in patients with COPD is still lacking. The paucity of studies, small sample sizes, gender and disease status pooling were the main risk of biases affecting the results uncertainty. Two research directions emerged: stricter cohorts characterization in terms of COPD phenotype and longitudinal studies. Quantitative assessment of gait would identify abnormalities and sensorimotor postural deficiencies that in turn may lead to better falling prevention strategies in COPD.