Functioning and Disability
Shamay S.M. Ng, PhD
Professor
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Desmond Y.W. Lam, MS
Physiotherapist
Physiotherapy Clinic
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Peiming Chen, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow
The Hong Kong Polytechnic Univeristy
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is a clinical assessment of functional mobility. Although the total completion time is recorded, the test overlooks performance in specific subtasks. The Expanded Timed Up and Go (ETUG) addresses this limitation by segmenting performance into five subtasks: sit-to-stand, 10 m walking at preferred speed, 180° turn, 10 m fast walking, and turn-to-sit, allowing a more detailed, valid, and reliable evaluation. To minimize subjective bias and improve accuracy, the ETUG can be instrumented with motion capture (I-ETUG). Therefore, this study aimed to:(i) assess inter-rater and test–retest reliability of I-ETUG; (ii)compare I-ETUG performance between people with stroke and healthy controls; and(iii)examine correlations between I-ETUG subtask performance and other stroke-related outcome measures.
Design:
This cross-sectional study included 45 people with stroke and 30 healthy older adults. Participants with stroke completed I-ETUG twice on Day 1 and day 2 with 7 days later. The Mobility Lab system was used to measure the total time of all the subtasks in ETUG. They also completed assessments of muscle strength, Fugl–Meyer Assessment of Lower Extremity (FMA-LE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Limit of Stability (LOS) test and 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF12). Healthy older adults completed the I-ETUG only.
Results:
The I-ETUG demonstrated excellent intra-rater and test-retest reliabilities (ICCs=0.978-0.997). The I-ETUG completion time differed significantly between people with stroke and healthy older adults, with longer times in the stroke group (mean± SD:31.59±12.18 s) compared with the healthy group (18.10±2.31 s). The I-ETUG showed significant correlations with the FMA-LE, affected ankle dorsiflexion strength, BBS, maximum excursion on the LOS test, and SF-12 (r =−0.354 to −0.592; p< 0.05).
Conclusion:
The I-ETUG is a reliable and valid tool for assessing functional mobility in people with stroke, showing strong associations with established stroke-related clinical measures.
