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The Function in Sitting Test (FIST) is a bedside evaluation of sitting balance that evaluates sensory, motor, proactive, reactive, and steady state balance factors.
14
Less than 15 minutes
Reviewed by Heidi Roth, DHS, PT, NCS and the TBI EDGE task force of the Neurology Section of the APTA in 5/2012
Recommendations for use of the instrument from the Neurology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Multiple Sclerosis Taskforce (MSEDGE), Parkinson’s Taskforce (PD EDGE), Spinal Cord Injury Taskforce (PD EDGE), Stroke Taskforce (StrokEDGE), Traumatic Brain Injury Taskforce (TBI EDGE), and Vestibular Taskforce (Vestibular EDGE) are listed below. These recommendations were developed by a panel of research and clinical experts using a modified Delphi process.
For detailed information about how recommendations were made, please visit: ANPT Outcome Measures Recommendations (EDGE)
Abbreviations:
HR
Highly Recommend
R
Recommend
LS / UR
Reasonable to use, but limited study in target group / Unable to Recommend
NR
Not Recommended
Recommendations based on level of care in which the assessment is taken:
Acute Care
Inpatient Rehabilitation
Skilled Nursing Facility
Outpatient
Rehabilitation
Home Health
MS EDGE
UR
UR
UR
NR
UR
TBI EDGE
LS
LS
LS
LS
LS
Recommendations for use based on ambulatory status after brain injury:
Completely Independent
Mildly dependant
Moderately Dependant
Severely Dependant
TBI EDGE
NR
LS
LS
LS
Recommendations based on EDSS Classification:
EDSS 0.0 – 3.5
EDSS 4.0 – 5.5
EDSS 6.0 – 7.5
EDSS 8.0 – 9.5
MS EDGE
NR
NR
NR
UR
Recommendations for entry-level physical therapy education and use in research:
Students should learn to administer this tool? (Y/N)
Students should be exposed to tool? (Y/N)
Appropriate for use in intervention research studies? (Y/N)
Is additional research warranted for this tool (Y/N)
MS EDGE
No
No
No
Yes
TBI EDGE
No
No
No
Not reported
Do you see an error or have a suggestion for this instrument summary? Please e-mail us!
Acute Stroke: (Gorman et al, 2010; n=31, age 61.5 (10.9) years, <=3 months post stroke, Modified Rankin Scale of moderate / moderately severe / severe)
Acute Stroke: (Calculated from Gorman et al, 2010)
Acute Stroke: (Gorman et al, 2010)
Adults With Sitting Balance Dysfunction: (Gorman, Harro, Platko and Greenwald, 2014, n=125, age=60.0 (16.6) years)
Balance Participants: (Gorman, Rivera, and McCarthy, 2014) (n=6; Mean Age= 68.7)
***Medical diagnoses of the balance participants included Parkinson’s disease (n=1), multiple sclerosis (n=1), and cerebrovascular accident (n=5).
Adults With Sitting Balance Dysfunction: (Gorman, Harro, Platko & Greenwald, 2014)
Adults With Sitting Balance Dysfunction: (Gorman, Harro, Platko & Greenwald, 2014)
Balance Participants: (Gorman, Rivera, and McCarthy, 2014), n=6; mean age = 68.7
***Medical diagnoses of the balance participants included Parkinson’s disease (n=1), multiple sclerosis (n=1), and cerebrovascular accident (n=5).
Balance Participants: (Gorman, Rivera, and McCarthy, 2014), n=6; mean age = 68.7
***Medical diagnoses of the balance participants included Parkinson’s disease (n=1), multiple sclerosis (n=1), and cerebrovascular accident (n=5).
Adults With Sitting Balance Dysfunction: (Gorman, Harro, Platko & Greenwald, 2014)
Concurrent Validity: Good to Excellent concurrent validity with the Berg Balance Scale and Functional Independence Measure at both admission and discharge (Spearman ρ=.71–.85).
Adults With Sitting Balance Dysfunction: (Gorman, Harro, Platko and Greenwald, 2014, n=125, age=60.0 (16.6) years)
Responsiveness: Strong as evidenced by the large effect size (.83), standardized response mean (1.04), and index of responsiveness (1.07).
Gorman, SL, Radtka, S, et al. "Development and validation of the function in sitting test in adults with acute stroke." Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy 34(3)(2010): 150-160. Find it on PubMed
Gorman, SL, et al. "Examining the Function in Sitting Test for Validity, Responsiveness, and Minimal Clinically Important Difference in Inpatient Rehabilitation." Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 95.12 (2014): 2304-11.
Gorman SL, Rivera M, McCarthy L. "Reliability of the Function in Sitting Test (FIST)." Rehabilitation research and practice. 2014; 2014:593280.
We have reviewed more than 500 instruments for use with a number of diagnoses including stroke, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury among several others.