The timed "Up & Go": a test of basic functional mobility for frail elderly persons.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Clinical Biomechanics

Background:

• Functional mobility is crucial for independence in older adults.
• Assessing mobility accurately aids in fall prevention and intervention planning.
• The original
• Get-Up and Go
• Test provides a qualitative measure of mobility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and validity of a modified, timed
• Get-Up and Go
• Test.
• To determine if the timed test correlates with established measures of balance and function.
• To assess the predictive value of the timed test for safe community ambulation.

Main Methods:

• A modified, timed
• Get-Up and Go
• Test was administered to 60 geriatric patients.
• Participants rose from a chair, walked 3 meters, turned, returned, and sat down, with time recorded.
• Correlations were calculated with the Berg Balance Scale, gait speed, and Barthel Index of ADL.

Main Results:

• The timed
• Up & Go
• Test demonstrated high inter-rater and intra-rater reliability.
• Scores showed strong negative correlations with the Berg Balance Scale (r = -0.81) and Barthel Index (r = -0.78).
• A significant correlation was found with gait speed (r = -0.61) and predictive ability for safe outdoor mobility.

Conclusions:

• The timed
• Up & Go
• Test is a reliable and valid tool for quantifying functional mobility in geriatric patients.
• The test effectively correlates with balance, gait speed, and activities of daily living.
• This rapid, equipment-free assessment can aid in clinical evaluations and monitoring functional changes over time.