Functional Gait Assessment(FGA)
Scoring
Administration.
10 tasks: gait on level surface, change in gait speed, gait with horizontal head turns, gait with vertical head turns, gait and pivot turn, step over obstacle, gait with narrow base of support, gait with eyes closed, ambulating backwards, steps. Walkway 6 m. Equipment: stopwatch, shoebox, marked lane, step. Time: 10 minutes. Same assistive device on retest.
Scoring.
0 severe impairment, 3 normal. Score 0 if patient cannot walk.
MDC and MCID, stroke-specific.
- Stroke MDC = 4 points (Lin JH et al. *Stroke*. 2010;41:2021–2025; per Core Set pocket guide).
- Community-dwelling stroke MDC ≈ 5.02 (Wu et al. *BMC Neurol*. 2025).
Cut-points.
Community-dwelling older adults: <22/30 increased fall risk (Wrisley and Kumar. *Phys Ther*. 2010;90:761–773). Stroke-specific cut-point ≥20/30 distinguishes patients from healthy controls (Wu 2025).
Bedside interpretation
What it measures.
Walking balance through 10 walking tasks scored 0–3, total 0–30.
History.
Wrisley DM, Marchetti GF, Kuharsky DK, Whitney SL. *Phys Ther*. 2004;84:906–918. Modified from the Dynamic Gait Index to reduce ceiling effects and improve discriminative validity in vestibular and neurologic populations. Core Set CPG (Moore 2018) gives a moderate recommendation (Level I).
When to use.
Ambulatory patients with balance goals; falls clinic; community-dwelling stroke survivors; vestibular contribution to imbalance.
When not to use.
Non-ambulatory patients (score 0 only if walking is a goal). Acute medical instability.