Reliability and Validity of the Trunk Control Measurement Scale in Children With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

While trunk control is essential for daily activities and motor function, there is currently sparse information regarding the psychometric properties of the outcome measures used for assessing trunk control in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), characterized by proximal muscle weakness. The Trunk Control Measurement Scale (TCMS) was developed to assess trunk control in children with cerebral palsy. We aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the TCMS for children with DMD. We determined the functional level of 52 children with DMD (median age: 8.83 years) with the Vignos Scale, and we further evaluated them with the Motor Function Measure (MFM), a gold standard for determining the validity of the TCMS. Internal consistency of the Turkish TCMS was excellent with a Cronbach's alpha of .95. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values for intra-rater reliability were between 0.90-0.96 and for inter-rater reliability were between 0.91-0.95. We reported positive moderate to strong correlations between the TCMS and trunk flexors strength (p < .001, r = 0.77), back extensors strength (p < .001, r = 0.68) and MFM (p < .001, r = 0.85). Thus, we found the Turkish version of TCMS to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing trunk control of children with DMD in clinical and research settings.