Lab 8: Functional Testing

Question 1

Purpose of Lab

Answer 1

Informs clinician of a patient’s ability to perform activities of daily
living (ADLs)

Question 2

What exercises are used?

Answer 2

• 6 minute walk test
• Standing Physical Performance Battery

Question 3

6-minute walk test

Answer 3

Used to assess:
- Aerobic capacity and endurance in children and geriatric
populations
- Compares oxygen saturation during activity compared to rest (used to titrate oxygen prescriptions for patients with lung disease)
Objective: Cover as much distance in 6 minutes as possible

Question 4

6-minute walk equipment needed

Answer 4

stopwatch, cones/tape, uninterrupted straight hallway, pen/paper, watch/heart rate monitor, tape measure

Question 5

6-minute walk Testing Instructions (remember the gist of it)

Answer 5

1. Set up cones 100 feet apart.
2. Have patient sit quietly in a chair at one end of the course and obtain resting HR.
3. Explain instructions to patient
4. Walk behind the patient through the course for safety, but be careful not to influence their pace. Tally each 100 foot lap as they complete it. Give
   reminders occasionally to remind the patient how much time is left (I.e. “3
   minutes complete, 3 minutes to go”)
5. Stop the patient when the 6 minutes is up and take their HR immediately (and oxygen saturation if necessary). Record HR value, and measure any partial lap completed.
6. Record total distance walked by adding full laps completed and any partial lap distance.

Question 6

Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) Exercises

Answer 6

• 5 Chair Stands (testing functional leg strength)
• Balance Battery (testing balance in multiple positions)
• 4 Meter gait speed (good indicator of frailty in geriatric research)

Question 7

Chair Stand Instructions

Answer 7

1. Arms crossed over chest
2. Patient is seated in a chair with feet flat on the floor
3. Patient is asked to stand all the way up and sit all the way down 5 times without use of hands AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE
4. Time is stopped when patient stands all the way up on 5th chair stand

Question 8

Chair Stand Scoring

Answer 8

0: more than 60 seconds
1: 16.7 – 60 seconds
2: 13.70 – 16.69 seconds
3: 11.2 – 13.69 seconds
4: 11.19 seconds or less

Question 9

Balance Battery Instructions/Stands

Answer 9

• Side by Side
• Semi Tandem (one foot half a step forward)
• Tandem (heel of one foot directly in front of the opposite toe)

Question 10

Balance Battery Scoring

Answer 10

0: not held for 10 seconds or not attempted
1: held for 10 seconds

Question 11

Gait Speed Instructions

Answer 11

1. Set two cones 4 meters apart
2. Time patient walking at a “fast paced” speed between the cones
3. Have patient start a few stride lengths behind the first cone and keep walking past the second cone. This will allow you to calculate their peak walking speed, rather than including the acceleration and
   deceleration phases.

Question 12

Gait Speed Scoring

Answer 12

1: > 8.70 seconds
2: 6.21 - 8.70 seconds
3: 4.82 - 6.20 seconds
4: < 4.82 seconds