title: Reliability and validity of short-term performance tests for wheelchair-using children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the test-retest reproducibility of the Muscle Power Sprint Test (MPST), the 10 × 5-m sprint test, and the arm-cranking Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP). A secondary objective was to assess the construct validity of the MPST.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-three participants with spastic CP (mean age 13 y 3 mo, range 7-18 y, SD 3.6 y; 18 males, five females, two classified as having spastic unilateral CP, 21 as having spastic bilateral CP) using a manual wheelchair for at least part of the day were recruited and tested in different rehabilitation settings in the Netherlands. Participants were classified as in Gross Motor Function Classification System Expanded and Revised (GMFCS-E&R) levels III and IV.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intraclass correlation coefficients (range 0.93-0.99; 95% confidence interval 0.82-1.0) for all variables indicated highly acceptable reproducibility. Limits of agreement analysis revealed satisfactory levels of agreement. The MPST variables demonstrated very strong significant positive correlations for peak power and mean power from both tests (peak power: r=0.91, p<0.001; mean power: r=0.88, p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MPST, the 10 × 5-m sprint test, and the arm-cranking WAnT are reproducible tests for measuring anaerobic performance and agility in adolescents with spastic CP who self-propel a manual wheelchair. The MPST has been shown to be a valid test to measure anaerobic performance in this population.
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience and Center of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht and Rehabilitation Center De Hoogstraat, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Rehabilitation Centre De Hoogstraat, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Partner of Shared Utrecht Pediatric Exercise Research (SUPER) Lab, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Verschuren
authors.forename: Maremka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zwinkels
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Obeid
authors.forename: Nicky
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kerkhof
authors.forename: Marjolijn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ketelaar
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takken
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D009426:Netherlands; D010809:Physical Fitness; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology; D014910:Wheelchairs