Quantitative assessment of bed rise difficulty in young and elderly women.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the motions which occur during rising from bed, specifically the motions that appeared to characterize difficulty in rising from a bed in older adults.


METHODS
Development of a Mobility assessment tool.


METHODS
Retirement center and two university laboratories.


METHODS
Three groups of female volunteers: young controls (n = 17, mean age 24), community-dwelling older adults (n = 12, mean age 71), and retirement center-dwelling older adults who admitted to difficulty in rising from a bed (n = 15, mean age 86).


METHODS
Videotaping of motions occurring during controlled rises from a supine to sitting position.


METHODS
These motions were rated on the specially developed Bed Rise Difficulty (BRD) scale, a scale designed to measure movements that characterize difficulty in rising from a bed in older adults. Subject groups were compared in total BRD score, individual BRD item score, and total time to rise. Item relationships and scale reliability were also assessed.


RESULTS
Older adults with no apparent difficulty in rising based on total time to rise or on the BRD score nevertheless showed differences in upper extremity use when compared to young controls. Older adult subjects with difficulty in rising from a bed, when compared to other older adults with no apparent difficulty, differed more often in their upper extremity and leg use to facilitate the rise. Five BRD scale items, including use of extremity pushes, discontinuity of trunk and leg motion, multiple shoulder/pelvic adjustments, multiple leg adjustments, and poor vertical heel clearance may have best indicated true bed rise difficulty.


CONCLUSIONS
These data provide a reliable and valid method to characterize difficulty in rising from a bed and provide the basis for biomechanical analyses of the strength and joint ranges of motion required to rise from a bed.
Alexander
N B
NB
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Fry-Welch
D K
DK
Ward
M E
ME
Folkmier
L C
LC
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001510:Bed Rest; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014743:Videotape Recording