Background: Early functional outcomes for activities of daily living at an early stage after a stroke may enable clinicians to establish treatment-optimal training and goals. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between the ability to perform basic movements at the bedside, which were measured using a new scale, the Ability for Basic Movement Scale, in the early stage after stroke and functional ability at discharge from the hospital.
Methods: A total of 142 stroke patients participated in this prospective study. In addition to the Ability for Basic Movement Scale score, age, limb paresis as measured by the Brunnstrom stage, and functional ability as measured by the Barthel Index were also selected as predictor variables.
Results: Pearson correlation coefficient analysis showed that the state of functional ability at discharge had significant positive correlations with total scores of the Ability for Basic Movement Scale and Brunnstrom stage at all stages of data collection. The results of linear stepwise regression analysis indicated that "turn over from supine position," "remain sitting," and "sit up" of the Ability for Basic Movement Scale at 10 days after onset, in addition to age at onset of stroke, the baseline Barthel Index, and the baseline Brunnstrom stage, were significant predictors (75.6%) of functional ability at discharge.
Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the predictive value of the Ability for Basic Movement Scale with regard to functional ability in stroke patients.