title: Reliability and validity of three functional tests in ambulatory patients with spinal cord injury.
abstract: METHODS
  A cross-sectional study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate reliability, discriminative ability and concurrent validity of three functional tests (including the 10-meter walk test (10MWT), timed up and go test (TUGT) and five times sit-to-stand test (FTSST)) using the Functional Independence Measure Locomotor (FIM-L) scores as a standard criterion.
  
  
  METHODS
  A tertiary rehabilitation center, Thailand.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were 66 patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), who were able to walk at least 50 m unassisted with or without a walking device (FIM-L scores 6-7). They were tested for functional ability using the 10MWT, TUGT and FTSST. Sixteen subjects also assessed the ability using three assessors to evaluate the inter-tester reliability of the tools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The three functional tests demonstrated excellent inter-tester reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (3,3)=0.997-1.00) and could clearly distinguish between subjects who walked with and without a walking device. In addition, the tests showed significant correlation with walking categories or FIM-L scores (r(pb)=0.778, -0.692 and -0.595 for the 10MWT, TUGT and FTSST, respectively, P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings support reliability and validity of the 10MWT, TUGT and FTSST to assess levels of independences in ambulatory subjects with SCI.
authors.affiliation: Improvement of Physical Performance and Quality of Life (IPQ) Research Group, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poncumhak
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Saengsuwan
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kamruecha
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amatachaya
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers / Q000592:standards*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology / Q000592:standards*