The reliability and responsiveness of subjective assessment of upper limb associated reactions in people with acquired brain injury during walking.

Abstract

People with acquired brain injury (ABI) are commonly affected by upper limb associated reactions (ARs) during walking. There is no gold standard for measuring ARs in research or clinical practice. Testing methods tend to be laboratory-based or focus only on one joint. Subjective rating of visual observation may be a clinically feasible method of quantifying ARs during walking. AIMS: To determine intra-rater, inter-rater and test-retest reliability and responsiveness of subjective assessment of upper limb ARs during walking in people with ABI using the: 1.Qualifiers Scale of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) 2.Visually estimated elbow flexion angle