The Timed 180° Turn Test for Assessing People with Hemiplegia from Chronic Stroke

BACKGROUND: Turning is ubiquitous in activities of daily living. For people with hemiplegia, persistent impairments in strength, balance, and coordination will affect their ability to turn safely. Consequently, turning retraining should be addressed in rehabilitation programs. To measure turning for these individuals, a reliable clinical tool is required. OBJECTIVE: To investigate (i) the intrarater, interrater, and test-retest reliability of the timed 180° turn test; (ii) the correlation of the timed 180° turn test with other measures of stroke-specific impairments; and (iii) the cut-off time that best discriminates individuals with hemiplegia from chronic stroke and healthy older adults. METHODS: 33 individuals with hemiplegia due to chronic stroke and 32 healthy elderly individuals participated in this cross-sectional study. The timed 180° turn test was administered along with other measures of stroke-specific impairment. RESULTS: The timed 180° turn test demonstrated excellent intrarater, interrater, and test-retest reliability in individuals with hemiplegia from chronic stroke. The timed 180° turn test (times) significantly correlated with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the Lower Extremities (FMA-LE), affected ankle plantar flexion strength, the 5-Times-Sit-To-Stand test, the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. CONCLUSION: The timed 180° turn test is a reliable clinical tool to assess the turning ability of subjects with hemiplegia from chronic stroke.