Measurement properties and feasibility of clinical tests to assess sit-to-stand/stand-to-sit tasks in subjects with neurological disease: a systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundSubjects with neurological disease (ND) usually show impaired performance during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit tasks, with a consequent reduction in their mobility levels. Objective To determine the measurement properties and feasibility previously investigated for clinical tests that evaluate sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit in subjects with ND.Method A systematic literature review following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol was performed. Systematic literature searches of databases (MEDLINE/SCIELO/LILACS/PEDro) were performed to identify relevant studies. In all studies, the following inclusion criteria were assessed: investigation of any measurement property or the feasibility of clinical tests that evaluate sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit tasks in subjects with ND published in any language through December 2012. The COSMIN checklist was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. Results Eleven studies were included. The measurement properties/feasibility were most commonly investigated for the five-repetition sit-to-stand test, which showed good test-retest reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient:ICC=0.94-0.99) for subjects with stroke, cerebral palsy and dementia. The ICC values were higher for this test than for the number of repetitions in the 30-s test. The five-repetition sit-to-stand test also showed good inter/intra-rater reliabilities (ICC=0.97-0.99) for stroke and inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.99) for subjects with Parkinson disease and incomplete spinal cord injury. For this test, the criterion-related validity for subjects with stroke, cerebral palsy and incomplete spinal cord injury was, in general, moderate (correlation=0.40-0.77), and the feasibility and safety were good for subjects with Alzheimer's disease. Conclusions The five-repetition sit-to-stand test was used more often in subjects with ND, and most of the measurement properties were investigated and showed adequate results.

Surface electromyography as a measure of trunk muscle activity in patients with spinal cord injury: a meta-analytic review

“…If a consensus could not be reached, a third rater was recruited to resolve the disagreement. 6 First, systematic literature searches of the following databases were performed to identify relevant studies: Pubmed, Medline, CNKI, WANFANG DATA, Web of Science, Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, Karger, and OVID. Keyword search terms included surface electromyography, SEMG, spinal cord injury, SCI, paraplegia, tetraplegia, quadriplegia, and trunk.…”

“…5 For example, paraplegic subjects use both latissimus dorsi and trapezius to stabilize their sitting posture, in contrast to nondisabled persons. 6 A series of research studies have provided electrophysiological data related to trunk muscles as an aid to plan efficient rehabilitation interventions for functional mobility recovery in individuals with SCI. These studies often employ SEMG to measure action potentials in muscles.…”

Study of acceleration of center of mass during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit in patients with stroke

“…In clinical settings, the generally recommended and reliable test to examine sit-to-stand ability in patients with stroke involves performing five repetitions of 30-s sit-to-stand activities16 ) . However, only the time taken to perform the activities was examined in this previous study.…”

Movement analysis of sit-to-stand – research informing clinical practice

“…The five times sit-to-stand test (FTSST) seems to be the most frequently used STS protocol 11 and this well described and standardised test has, for instance, been used in studies with the elderly, 12 in persons with stroke, 13,14 multiple sclerosis (MS), 15 incomplete spinal cord injury, 16 vestibular dysfunction, 17 Parkinson's disease (PD), 3 low-back pain, 18 COPD 19 and in children with cerebral palsy (CP). 20 The FTSST was first introduced in 1985 as a test of lower limb muscle strength.…”

“…21 Its psychometric properties have been extensively investigated. Test-retest reliability of FTSST in adults 22 and in subjects with neurological disorders 11 as well as intra- 14 and inter-rater 3,16,23 reliabilities have shown good to high intra class correlation values (ICC). Concurrent validity of FTSST when compared to muscular strength, 14,15 walking speed, 17 walking endurance 20 and different balance tests 3,15,24,25 has, irrespective of patient group, been demonstrated to be moderate.…”