Assessing Mobility and Locomotor Coordination after Stroke with the Rise-to-Walk Task

INTRODUCTION: To assess mobility and locomotor coordination after stroke with the rise-to-walk task (RTW) and to examine the construct and concurrent validity of this task. METHODS: Nineteen subjects who had sustained a stroke and 19 healthy subjects performed the RTW task. The performance was recorded simultaneously with 2 clinical methods and 1 instrumented method. The RTW duration and fluidity of the motor strategy (fluid or nonfluid) were compared between groups and between methods. The relationship between RTW duration and 3 locomotor-related disability tests, as well as 1 motor impairment test, was studied. RESULTS: The subjects with stroke took 65% more time to complete the RTW task, and 16/19 separated the tasks of rising and walking (nonfluid strategy). Measures of the RTW duration with clinical methods were strongly correlated (r = 0.84 to 0.98) to those from the instrumented method, and the motor strategy was successfully assessed from video records. The duration was moderately correlated to scores from other locomotor-related tests, but not to the motor impairment test. DISCUSSION: The assessment of mobility and locomotor coordination with the RTW task indicate that both outcomes are impaired after stroke and that clinical methods provide a valid measurement of the task.