Evaluation of functional capacity after stroke as a basis for active intervention. Presentation of a modified chart for motor capacity assessment and its reliability.

For patients with cerebrovascular disease a chart for motor capacity assessment modified after that of Fugl-Meyer et al. has been developed. The chart comprises assessment of the ability to perform active movements and rapid movement changes, mobility, balance, sensation, joint pain and passive range of motion. Both the paretic and the non-paretic sides are evaluated. An internal consistency reliability test was performed, using the standardized item alpha coefficient calculated from the values of 231 patients with stroke on admission. The coefficients were between 0.84 and 0.99 for all the different parts of the chart, except for pain, for which they were somewhat lower. This confirms that the chart and its different parts have high homogeneity and that the test situations were adequate. Bilateral evaluation provides important information on the functional ability, especially when the "non-paretic" side is also impaired.