Use of videotape to assess mobility in a controlled randomized crossover trial of physiotherapy in chronic multiple sclerosis

Objectives: To determine to what degree assessment of mobility based on comparison of videotape recordings before and after courses of physiotherapy in patients with chronic multiple sclerosis (MS) is reliable, correlates with ‘live’ assessments and indicates benefit.Design: Prospective data collection within a randomized crossover controlled trial of physiotherapy at home, as an outpatient, or ‘no therapy’ in 40 patients.Setting: Hospital outpatients: outpatient and home physiotherapy.Outcomes: Mobility change based on a comparison of short video recordings before and after each treatment period was scored independently by two physiotherapists blinded to therapy type and other measures of outcome. Scores were compared with changes in the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) and other indices assessed by a physiotherapist in the patient's home.Results: The two video observers agreed substantially on patient outcome. Changes in walking based on video correlated with RMI for home treatment (r = 0.41, p = 0.008) b...