This query is about test validation.
We have developed a sitting reach test with individuals with spinal cord
injury to measure trunk control and have had high test/re-test reliability
with the 3D kinematics. Now we want to validate this test. We began this
quest by sitting the patients directly on a force plate to measure the COP
excursion in the direction of the reaching. The subject is positioned in an
unsupported sitting position with feet on the floor. A problem has now
arisen. If the patient leans far enough, the COP reaches the edge of the
force plate, thus truncating the excursion.
Are there any suggestions for remedying this problem or alternative for
validating this test?
Stephen Lindley MS, PTA
Senior Research Associate
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis
University of Miami – Medical Campus