Article

OBJECTIVES: To investigate (i) the intra-rater, inter-rater and test-retest
reliability of sideways walk test times and counts in individuals with stroke;
(ii) their correlations with stroke-specific measures of impairment; (iii) the
cut-off sideways walk test times and counts between stroke survivors and healthy
controls; and (iv) the minimum detectable changes in the sideways walk test times
and counts. DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study.
SETTING: University-based
rehabilitation centre. SUBJECTS: Twenty-nine older adults with stroke and 32
healthy controls. METHODS:
The sideways walk test was conducted together with
Fugl-Meyer motor assessments of the lower extremities, lower limb muscle strength
tests, the Five-Times-Sit-To-Stand test, Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up-and-Go
test, and Activity-based Confidence and Community Integration Measure
questionnaires. RESULTS: The sideways walk test times and counts demonstrated
good to excellent intra-rater, inter-rater, and test-retest reliabilities. The
sideways walk test times and counts were significantly correlated with motor
control and ankle dorsiflexor and plantarflexor strength of the affected leg,
balance performance and functional mobility. The cut-off sideways walk test time
and count that best discriminated between individuals with stroke and controls
were 10.74 s and 8.83 steps, respectively. The minimal detectable change in the
sideways walk test time in that situation was 1.85 s, and the count minimum
detectable change was 1.12 steps. CONCLUSION: The sideways walk test is a
reliable and easy-to-administer clinical test for assessing sideways walking
ability of individuals with chronic stroke.

Langue : ANGLAIS