Instruction in Reliability and Magnitude of Evaluation Parameters at Each Phase of a Sit-to-Stand Movement

Effects of enriched task-specific training on sit-to-stand tasks in individuals with chronic stroke

BACKGROUND

Approximately 80% of stroke survivors experience motor impairment of the contralateral limb that severely affects their activities of daily living (ADL).

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether an enriched task-specific training (ETT) program affected the performance and kinetics of sit-to-stand (STS) tasks.

METHODS

The study was part of an exploratory study with a within-subject, repeated-measure-design, with assessments before and after a three-week-long baseline period, and six months after the intervention. Forty-one participants underwent assessments of strength and endurance measured by the 30-second-chair-stand test (30sCST). The STS-kinetics, including the vertical ground reaction force (GRF) during STS, were analysed in an in-depth-subgroup of three participants, using a single-subject-experimental-design (SSED). For kinetic data, statistical significance was determined with the two-standard deviation band method (TSDB).

RESULTS

After the baseline period, a small increase was seen in the 30sCST (from 5.6±4.5 to 6.1±4.9, p = 0.042). A noticeable significant change in the 30sCST was shown after the intervention (from 6.1±4.9 to 8.2±5.4, p < 0.001), maintained at six months. The in-depth kinetic analyses showed that one of three subjects had a significant increase in loading of the affected limb post-intervention.

CONCLUSION

ETT can produce long-term gains in STS performance. Weight-bearing strategies could be one of several factors that contribute to improvements in STS performance in the chronic phase after stroke.

Describing Force Patterns: A Method for Classifying Sit-To-Stand Movement in Elderly People

The main contribution of this study is that it examined the sit-to-stand movements of elderly people and then established an assessment method to supplement the existing Berg Balance Scale for the risk of falling in elderly individuals. 36 elderly adults ( M age = 69.9 yr., SD = 4.0) volunteered to participate in this study. Three key points of the sit-to-stand movement were confirmed as aspects of the ground reaction force: the onset, maximum ground reaction force, and seat-off. Based on the characteristics indicated by the force data, the sit-to-stand movement sequences of those who were evaluated at low fall risk with a Berg Balance Scale score between 41 and 55 were classified into three patterns: typical-modal, multimodal, and incompetent-modal patterns. With this increased accuracy, medical practitioners can determine more clearly those participants who require further immediate medical consultation and those that are not at risk of falling.

Evaluation of key points in the sit-to-stand movement using two force platforms

Three key points of the sit-to-stand (STS) movement were confirmed as aspects of the ground reaction force (GRF): the onset, maximum GRF, and seat-off. 46 healthy subjects (M age = 22.2 yr., SD = 4.4) participated. During the STS movement, two vertical force platforms were used to measure the resultant GRF, defined as the whole-body force, and its two components, the buttock and leg GRFs. The onsets of the component GRFs identified the sequence of the important time points in the STS movement more precisely than the onset of the resultant GRF. Data showed that the maximum whole-body GRF, the maximum GRF of both legs, and seat-off appeared in sequence and not simultaneously.