Normal scores for nine maneuvers of the Childhood Myositis Assessment Scale

To document and evaluate the scores that normal, healthy children achieve when performing 9 maneuvers of the Childhood Myositis Assessment Scale (CMAS).

A total of 303 healthy children, 4-9 years of age, were scored as they performed 9 CMAS maneuvers. The data were then evaluated to determine whether normal scores for some maneuvers are age and sex dependent.

All children were able to achieve maximum possible scores for the supine to prone, supine to sit, floor sit, floor rise, and chair rise maneuvers. All but 2 4-year-olds achieved a maximum possible score for the arm raise/duration maneuver. Performance of the head lift and sit-up maneuvers varied significantly, depending primarily on age. Children in all age groups had less difficulty performing the leg lift than the head lift or sit-up.

The normative data generated by this study are of value for interpreting the serial CMAS scores of children with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.