Investigation of the timed ‘Up & Go’ test in children

Abstract

The timed 'Up & Go' test (TUG) is a test of basic or functional mobility in adults which has rarely been used in children. Functional mobility was defined for this study as an individual's ability to manoeuvre his or her body capably and independently to accomplish everyday tasks. Reliability and validity of TUG scores were examined in 176 children without physical disabilities (94 males, 82 females; mean age 5y 9mo [SD 1y 8mo]; range 3 to 9y) and in 41 young people with physical disabilities due to cerebral palsy or spina bifida (20 males, 21 females; mean age 8y 11mo [SD 4y 3mo], range 3 to 19y). Mean TUG score for children without physical disability was 5.9s (SD 1.3). Reliability of the TUG test was high, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) of 0.89 within session, and 0.83 for test-retest reliability. Mean score of the group aged 3 to 5 years was significantly higher (6.7s SD 1.2) than that of the older group (5.1s, SD 0.8; p=0.001). Scores in the younger group reduced significantly over a 5-month follow-up period (p=0.001), indicating that the TUG was responsive to change. Within-session reliability of the TUG in young people with disabilities was very high (ICC=0.99). There were significant differences in TUG scores between children classified at levels I, II, and III of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (p=0.001). TUG scores showed a moderate negative correlation with scores on the Standing and Walking dimensions of the Gross Motor Function Measure (n=22, rho=-0.52, p=0.012). There was no significant difference in TUG scores between typically developing male and female children. The TUG can be used reliably in children as young as 3 years using the protocol described in this paper. It is a meaningful, quick, and practical objective measure of functional mobility. With further investigation, the TUG is potentially useful as a screening test, an outcome measure in intervention studies for young people with disabilities, a measure of disability, and as a measure of change in functional mobility over time.

Comparative Reliability of the PEDI, GMFM and TUG Tests for Children with Cerebral Palsy

“…The TUG test results also showed very high reliability, though it was slightly lower than the reliabilities of GMFM-88 and PEDI. Similar studies in the past showed the very high reliability of the TUG test for children with CP 12,16) and stroke patients 14,15) . On the contrary, KartzLeurer et al 18) found that the reliability of the TUG test for children with traumatic brain injury (ICC=0.…”

“…Williams et al 12) examined the reliability of the TUG test in 176 healthy children (aged 3-9 years) and 41 children with CP (aged 3-9 years) and found that the reliability was excellent (ICC = 0. 99).…”

Walking ability and predictors of performance on the 6‐minute walk test in adults with spastic cerebral palsy

“…1 The literature is conflicting about the ability of the TUG to differentiate between the different GMFCS levels. 21,39 We found a significant difference in TUG values across these levels. Thus, we suggest that the TUG can give useful information about functional mobility in daily activities in comparable populations.…”

Proposta de atuação fisioterapêutica em uma criança com síndrome de Angelman, enfatizando o equilíbrio postural: estudo de caso

“…At the initial evaluation, the child presented lower score in relation to the highest score in the Berg scale in all of the assessed items. The TUG evaluation also showed a worse than expected performance for the age group (15 seconds), since the mean expected for children aged between three and nine years is 5.9 seconds (ranging from 3 to 13 seconds) 25 . Finally, posturography showed major body oscillation, demonstrating imbalance.…”