Determining the cut-off value for knee extensor strength for identifying independence in gait in chronic stroke survivors

• Published in: Journal of rehabilitation medicine Vol. 49; no. 9; pp. 765 - 767
• Main Authors: Akazawa, Naoki, Okawa, Naomi, Tamura, Kimiyuki, Moriyama, Hideki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sweden Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Aged; Chronic Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diuretics; Female; Gait; Gait - physiology; Gait Disorders, Neurologic - rehabilitation; Humans; Knee Joint - physiopathology; Male; Stroke; Stroke - physiopathology; Stroke - therapy; Stroke Rehabilitation - methods; Survivor; Survivors; Values
• ISSN: 1650-1977; 1651-2081
• DOI: 10.2340/16501977-2279

To determine the cut-off values for knee extensor strength on the paretic and non-paretic sides and both sides combined for identifying independence in gait in chronic stroke survivors. Cross-sectional study. Sixty chronic stroke survivors. Functional Independence Measure (FIM) gait scores were measured, and the participants were allocated to the independent group (FIM gait score 6 or 7) or the dependent group (FIM gait score 1-5). Knee extensor strength on the paretic and non-paretic sides was measured using a handheld dynamometer. Eighteen stroke survivors were allocated to the independent group and 42 to the dependent group. The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed that the cut-off values for knee extensor strength were 0.46 Nm/kg (sensitivity 83% and specificity 67%; area under the curve (AUC) 0.816) on the paretic side, 0.65 Nm/kg (sensitivity 89% and specificity 55%; AUC 0.738) on the non-paretic side and 1.31 Nm/kg (sensitivity 83% and specificity 74%; AUC 0.811) for both sides combined. These cut-off values could help to identify stroke survivors who are no longer independent in gait because of decreasing knee extensor strength on the paretic and non-paretic sides.