title: Physical performance assessment in military service members.
abstract: Few established measures allow effective quantification of physical performance in severely injured service members. We sought to establish preliminary normative data in 180 healthy, active-duty service members for physical performance measures that can be readily implemented in a clinical setting. Interrater and test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) values were also determined. Physical performance testing included self-selected walking velocity on level and uneven terrain, timed stair ascent, the sit-to-stand five times test, the four-square step test, and the 6-minute walk test. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, intraclass correlation coefficients, and MDC. Interrater and test-retest reliability were excellent for all measures (intraclass correlation coefficients >0.75). MDC values for timed measures were <0.3 seconds for interrater comparisons and <1.5 seconds for between-day comparisons. Physical performance measures had a narrow range of normal performance and were reliable and stable between days.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Brooke Army Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wilken
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Darter
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Goffar
authors.forename: Jesse C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ellwein
authors.forename: Rachel M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Snell
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Tomalis
authors.forename: Scott W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Shaffer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D009043:Motor Activity; D010807:Physical Endurance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult