Association of paretic lower extremity muscle strength and standing balance with stair-climbing ability in patients with stroke.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between stair-climbing ability and standing balance and paretic lower extremity muscle strength in a sample of subjects following stroke. The subjects were 20 patients with hemiparesis and intact sensation who were a mean 67 years of age and 48 days post-stroke. Stair-climbing ability was measured using a three-component (assistance, rail use, pattern) grading system from which a total score was derived. The strength of five muscle groups was measured with a hand-held dynamometer. The sum of the five muscle group strengths was calculated. Standing balance was measured using an ordinal grading scheme. Individual muscle group strengths as well as the sum of the muscle group strengths were correlated significantly with the total stair-climbing scores (rs = 0.734 - 0.860). Standing balance scores correlated significantly with the total stair-climbing scores (rs = 0.937). Multiple regression showed that standing balance alone explained stair-climbing ability as well as stair-climbing ability and muscle strength combined. The results reinforce that both paretic muscle strength and standing balance may be appropriate components of the assessment and potentially fruitful targets for treatment for patients with stroke.