Reliability and validity of the sideways step test and its correlation with motor function after stroke

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability.
• Accurate and reliable clinical assessments are crucial for monitoring stroke recovery.
• The sideways step test (SST) is a novel assessment tool requiring further validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of the sideways step test (SST) in individuals with chronic stroke.
• To determine the correlation between SST performance and other stroke-specific impairment measures.
• To identify optimal SST cut-off scores for differentiating stroke survivors from healthy individuals.

Main Methods:

• The study included 43 individuals with chronic stroke and 41 healthy controls.
• Participants underwent the SST alongside established tests: Fugl-Meyer motor assessment (FMA-LE), five-times sit to stand (5TSTS), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), movement velocity (MVL), 10-meter walk (10mW), timed "Up and Go" (TUG), and Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale.
• Reliability was assessed for intra-rater, inter-rater, and test-retest conditions.

Main Results:

• The SST exhibited good to excellent intra-rater, inter-rater, and test-retest reliability.
• SST performance showed significant correlations with 5TSTS, 10mW, TUG, FMA-LE, and BBS.
• Cut-off scores of 11 (paretic leg) and 14 (non-paretic leg) effectively distinguished stroke subjects from healthy controls.

Conclusions:

• The sideways step test is a reliable and valid clinical tool for assessing functional deficits in chronic stroke.
• SST results are associated with key functional measures including strength, gait speed, and balance.
• The SST provides a valuable, simple method for evaluating stroke-related impairments and recovery progress.