title: Relationship between the climbing up and climbing down stairs domain scores on the FES-DMD, the score on the Vignos Scale, age and timed performance of functional activities in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Knowing the potential for and limitations of information generated using different evaluation instruments favors the development of more accurate functional diagnoses and therapeutic decision-making.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between the number of compensatory movements when climbing up and going down stairs, age, functional classification and time taken to perform a tested activity (TA) of going up and down stairs in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A bank of movies featuring 30 boys with DMD performing functional activities was evaluated. Compensatory movements were assessed using the climbing up and going down stairs domain of the Functional Evaluation Scale for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (FES-DMD); age in years; functional classification using the Vignos Scale (VS), and TA using a timer. Statistical analyses were performed using the Spearman correlation test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There is a moderate relationship between the climbing up stairs domain of the FES-DMD and age (r=0.53, p=0.004) and strong relationships with VS (r=0.72, p=0.001) and TA for this task (r=0.83, p<0.001). There were weak relationships between the going down stairs domain of the FES-DMD-going down stairs with age (r=0.40, p=0.032), VS (r=0.65, p=0.002) and TA for this task (r=0.40, p=0.034).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings indicate that the evaluation of compensatory movements used when climbing up stairs can provide more relevant information about the evolution of the disease, although the activity of going down stairs should be investigated, with the aim of enriching guidance and strengthening accident prevention. Data from the FES-DMD, age, VS and TA can be used in a complementary way to formulate functional diagnoses. Longitudinal studies and with broader age groups may supplement this information.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fisioterapia e Comportamento, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lilian A Y
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fisioterapia e Comportamento, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fátima A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Caromano
authors.affiliation: Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Silvana M B
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Assis
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fisioterapia e Comportamento, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Michele E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hukuda
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fisioterapia e Comportamento, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariana C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Voos
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fisioterapia e Comportamento, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Carvalho
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D020388:Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013997:Time Factors