The lower extremity activity profile: a health status instrument for measuring lower extremity disability

The Lower Extremity Activity Profile (LEAP) is a comprehensive measure of lower extremity function. It measures the client's perception of difficulty and satisfaction with performance in the following areas: self care, mobility, household activities, work, leisure activities, and social activities. The development and initial reliability and validity testing of LEAP was conducted with 32 osteoarthritis clients undergoing total knee replacement. Using a one-group repeated measures design, the LEAP, knee range of motion and self-paced walk measures were administered pre-operatively and 3 months post-operatively. The internal consistency of the LEAP using Cronbach's Alpha was 0.73. All LEAP scores showed significant improvement (p<0.01) between the two administration times demonstrating responsiveness of the measure. Correlations of LEAP with the clinical measures were moderate. LEAP is recommended for use as an outcome measure in similar populations, if used in conjunction with clinical and physical performance measures. Further testing of the LEAP is warranted for use in evaluating outcomes of rehabilitation programs addressing lower extremity musculoskeletal impairment and disability.