10 Meter Backward Walk Test

Walking backward is part of daily life, from stepping back from a counter to opening a door, and it is harder than walking forward. The backward walk test can reveal balance and stepping problems a forward walk misses. It takes 5 to 10 minutes and needs tape and a stopwatch.

How to give the test

1. On a flat, clear floor, mark a start line and a finish line 10 meters (about 33 feet) apart. Leave an extra 1 meter behind the start for getting going and 1 meter past the finish for slowing down.
2. Have the person stand 1 meter in front of the start line, with their back toward the finish line. Ask them to walk backward at a comfortable, self-selected speed until they pass the finish. They may use their usual cane or walker.
3. Start timing when the first backward step crosses the start line. Stop when both feet have crossed the finish line.
4. Walk slightly behind and to the side for safety. Do two trials and average them.

This is a measurement, not a diagnosis. The Backward Walk Test shows how quickly and safely someone can walk backward. It can’t tell you why, or what treatment is needed. Results should be reviewed with a physical therapist or another licensed health care provider who examines the person.

Reading the result

Reference values, not pass/fail rules. The numbers below come from specific published study groups. Use them as a guide alongside your own examination.

• Parkinson’s disease fall risk: a backward walking speed of 0.50 m/s was the cut-off to predict fallers from non-fallers (Duncan & Earhart, 2012). In the same summary, forward gait speed was not a good predictor of falls.
• Typical backward speeds: about 0.7 m/s in people with Parkinson’s disease and 0.9 m/s in matched healthy adults (Hackney & Earhart, on a 5-meter instrumented walkway, as listed by the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab).
• Change over time (chronic stroke, 10-meter protocol): the minimal detectable change was 4.49 seconds (Qin et al., 2026). Test–retest, inter-rater and intra-rater reliability were all excellent in that study.
• Protocols vary: backward walk tests have been studied over different distances, most often 3 meters (Hao et al., 2024). Compare a person only with results from the same distance and set-up.