Balance
Function In Sitting Test (FIST)
Link
- Access the Function In Sitting Test (FIST)
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Assesses functional sitting abilities and tracks changes in sitting balance over time.
- Used in clients who are suspected of having problems with balance and/or safety in a seated position.
Advantages
- Can be conducted at the client's bedside.
- Practical, easy and quick to administer and can be used for lower level patients.
Precautions or limitations
- Patients who can stand may benefit from others types of balance testing.
5x sit to stand
Link
- Access the 5x sit to stand
Type
- Evaluative
- Predictive
Description
- Measures lower limb strength and balance during transitions from sit to stand to sit. Can also be used to evaluate falls risk.
- The clinician times how long it takes for the client to move from sitting to standing 5 times and can use the time as an evaluative measure or a predictive falls risk tool.
Advantages
- Can be used to predict recurrent fallers.
Precautions or limitations
- Individuals who are weak may not be able to complete the requisite number of repetitions.
Timed Up and Go (TUG)
Link
- Access the Timed Up and Go (TUG)
Type
- Evaluative
- Predictive
Description
- Determines falls risk and measures the progress of balance during movement transitions (sit to stand, stand to sit, turning and walking).
- If a person takes more than 14 seconds to complete the test, this is associated with an increased risk of falling.
Advantages
- Assesses several components of mobility in one test.
Precautions or limitations
- Gait aide use must be recorded and standardised across test and retests. Test-retest error can be high.
Step Test
Link
- Access the Step Test
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Assesses the patient’s ability to use anticipatory postural control whilst performing a step task that is potentially destabilising
- Measures dynamic balance.
Advantages
- Fast and easy to conduct.
Precautions or limitations
- Requires a step with a standardised rise of 7.5 centimetres.
Functional Reach Test
Link
- Access the Functional Reach Test
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Assesses anticipatory postural responses to an internally generated perturbation as the person reaches forward.
Advantages
- A simple measure of functional standing balance.
- Can be administered in sitting or standing or sitting (Modified functional reach test).
Precautions or limitations
- None of note.
Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest)
Link
- Access the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest)
Type
- Discriminative
- Evaluative
Description
- Useful for clinicians looking for guidance on how to assess balance.
- Differentiates balance into 6 underlying systems that may constrain balance.
Advantages
- Appropriate across the age spectrum for ambulatory patients.
Precautions or limitations
- Requires equipment and can take up to 30 minutes to complete.
Mobility
10 metre walk test
Link
- Access the 10 metre walk test
Type
- Evaluative
- Predictive
Description
- Assesses walking speed over a short duration.
- Other gait parameters can be calculated from this simple test including velocity, step / stride length / width and cadence.
Advantages
- One of the most widely used reliable and valid measures of functional mobility.
- Quick and easy to administer.
Precautions or limitations
- Gait aide use must be recorded and standardised across test and retests.
6 minute walk test
Link
- Access the 6 minute walk test
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Assesses distance walked over 6 minutes as a sub-maximal test of aerobic capacity/endurance.
- Provides an idea of what people can achieve with functional mobility.
Advantages
- Functional and simple to administer.
Precautions or limitations
- Gait aide use must be recorded and standardised across test and retests.
HiMAT
Link
- Access the HiMAT
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Quantifies high-level mobility outcomes following neurotrauma.
- Assesses a person's ability to participate in running and other higher level mobility activities. The 13 items tested can also be used as treatment activities to progress towards higher level goals.
Advantages
- Suitable for neurotrauma clients who have goals that require a level of mobility beyond independent level walking.
Precautions or limitations
- One item for testing requires a flight of stairs.
Upper limb
Action Research Arm Test (ARAT)
Link
- Access the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT)
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Useful for clinicians looking for guidance about how to assess upper limb functioning.
- Commonly used in stroke research.
- A 19-item measure divided into 4 sub-tests (grasp, pinch, grip and gross arm movement).
Advantages
- Appropriate for use in stroke, brain injury and multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease populations. Most useful in people with moderate to high degrees of motor impairment.
Precautions or limitations
- Requires equipment.
- 4-point scale reflects the administrator's interpretation and is limited by issues related to insufficient detail around each point on the scale and the description of the testing materials.
Wheelchair User's Shoulder Pain Index (WUSPI)
Link
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Measures the functional cost of shoulder pain in wheelchair users. A simple functional measure of shoulder pain in people with spinal cord injuries.
- Targets activity limitation resulting from shoulder pain (4 subsections), including wheelchair transfers, wheelchair mobility, self-care and general activities. MDC = 5.
Advantages
- A simple self-report questionnaire.
Precautions or limitations
- Does not obtain information about the type or frequency of pain experienced during the activities.
Goal setting
Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)
Link
- Access the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS)
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Sets and measures a person's individualised goals.
- An individualised outcome measure to calculate the extent to which a patient’s goals are met. Can be used to set realistic expectations of intervention outcomes by setting the criteria for a successful outcome before the intervention starts.
- The author of the GAS has confirmed with the TAC that this measure is free to use as long as the authors are cited in any publication.
Advantages
- Functional and meaningful to the client. The client has direct input to their own goals.
- Highlights if a person is moving towards or away from their goal (has a +ve and -ve scale).
Precautions or limitations
- The overall GAS score is complex to calculate manually.
- Appropriate use of the GAS requires some training and clinical experience, as the clinician needs to be able to predict an individual's outcome.
- Should be used alongside standardised outcome measures.
Quality of life
Community Integration Questionnaire – Revised (CIQ–R)
Link
Type
- Evaluative
Description
- Measures community integration (home, social, productivity and electronic social networking) in people with neurotrauma and other disabilities.
Advantages
- Australian norms are available.
- Can be completed by a proxy.
- Takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
Precautions or limitations
- None of note.