title: Foot placement and arm position affect the five times sit-to-stand test time of individuals with chronic stroke.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of two foot placements (normal or posterior placement) and three arm positions (hands on the thighs, arms crossed over chest, and augmented arm position with elbow extended) on the five times sit-to-stand (FTSTS) test times of individuals with chronic stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study. Setting. University-based rehabilitation clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of community-dwelling individuals with chronic stroke (N = 45).
  
  
  METHODS
  The times in completing the FTSTS with two foot placements and the three arm positions were recorded by stopwatch.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Posterior foot placement led to significantly shorter FTSTS times when compared with normal foot placement in all the 3 arm positions (P ≤ 0.001). In addition, hands on thigh position led to significantly longer FTSTS times than the augmented arm position (P = 0.014).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results showed that foot placement and arm position could influence the FTSTS times of individuals with chronic stroke. Standardizing the foot placement and arm position in the test procedure is essential, if FTSTS test is intended to be used repeatedly on the same subject.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Patrick W H
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Kwong
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Shamay S M
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Raymond C K
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Gabriel Y F
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005528:Foot / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013997:Time Factors