The Timed Up & Go Test: Its Reliability and Association With Lower-Limb Impairments and Locomotor Capacities in People With Chronic Stroke

• Published in: Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation Vol. 86; no. 8; pp. 1641 - 1647
• Main Authors: Ng, Shamay S., Hui-Chan, Christina W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.08.2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Chronic Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disability Evaluation; Electromyography; Female; Humans; Lower Extremity - physiopathology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Muscle spasticity; Muscle Spasticity - physiopathology; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Nervous system as a whole; Neurology; Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects); Recovery of Function; Rehabilitation; Reproducibility of Results; Statistics, Nonparametric; Stroke; Stroke - physiopathology; Stroke Rehabilitation; Torque; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Hong Kong; Asia; China; Recovery of function; Stroke; Rehabilitation; Muscle spasticity; Performance evaluation; Prognosis; Gait; Lower limb; Cardiovascular disease; Vascular disease; Electrodiagnosis; Ankle joint; Reeducation; Rehabilitation center; Cross sectional study; Neurological disorder; Cerebrovascular disease; Human; Nervous system diseases; Healthy subject; Spasticity; Muscle tonus alteration; Test reliability; Cerebral disorder; Ankle; Walking; Striated muscle disease; Chronic; Central nervous system disease; Rehabilitation(human); Elderly; Strength
• ISSN: 0003-9993; 1532-821X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2005.01.011

Ng SS, Hui-Chan CW. The Timed Up & Go test: its reliability and association with lower-limb impairments and locomotor capacities in people with chronic stroke. To examine test-retest reliability of the Timed Up & Go (TUG) test, its ability to differentiate subjects with chronic stroke from healthy elderly subjects, and its associations with ankle plantarflexor spasticity, ankle muscle strength, gait performance, and distance walked in 6 minutes in subjects with chronic stroke. Cross-sectional study. University-based rehabilitation center in Hong Kong, China. Ten healthy elderly subjects and 11 subjects with chronic stroke. Not applicable. Time taken to complete the TUG test was recorded. Plantarflexor spasticity and ankle muscle strength were assessed, respectively, by the Composite Spasticity Scale and a load-cell together with electromyography. Gait parameters and walking endurance were measured respectively by walkway system (GAITRite II) and 6-minute walk test. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated as measures of reliability, and all correlation analyses were conducted using Spearman correlation coefficients. The TUG test showed excellent reliability (ICC>.95). Subjects with chronic stroke had significantly more spastic and weaker plantarflexors, slower walking speeds, and poorer walking endurance when compared with healthy elderly subjects (all P<.003). The strength of the affected ankle plantarflexors (ρ=–.860, P<.01), gait parameters (ρ range, .620–.900; P<.05), and walking endurance (ρ=–.960, P<.01) correlated with TUG scores. The TUG scores were reliable, were able to differentiate the patients from the healthy elderly subjects, and correlated well with plantarflexor strength, gait performance, and walking endurance in subjects with chronic stroke.