Can sitting and standing quickly tell if an older person needs help?
Validity and Responsiveness to Change of the 30-Second Chair-Stand Test in Older Adults Admitted to an Emergency Department.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
60% of patients couldn’t complete a single chair stand
Most people assume a basic mobility test like standing from a chair is doable for nearly everyone — but in acute care, most older patients are too weak even for that.
Practical Takeaways
Use the 30s-CST as a quick screen for functional risk in older ER patients, especially to identify those doing ≤8 stands.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
60% of patients couldn’t complete a single chair stand
Most people assume a basic mobility test like standing from a chair is doable for nearly everyone — but in acute care, most older patients are too weak even for that.
Practical Takeaways
Use the 30s-CST as a quick screen for functional risk in older ER patients, especially to identify those doing ≤8 stands.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy
Year
2017
Authors
Inge Hansen Bruun, C. Mogensen, B. Nørgaard, B. Schiøttz‐Christensen, T. Maribo
Related Content
Claims (6)
Doing the 30-second chair stand test—standing up and sitting down as many times as you can in half a minute—can accurately show how strong your legs are and how well they work as you get older.
If an older person in the hospital can't stand up from a chair more than 8 times in 30 seconds, they're likely to need more help with everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, or shopping compared to those who can do it more times.
For older adults in the ER, how many times they can stand up from a chair in 30 seconds is closely linked to their overall mobility — each extra stand means nearly a 5-point boost in their mobility score.
A lot of older patients in the hospital can't do even one sit-to-stand in 30 seconds, so this test isn't great at tracking whether they're getting worse or better when they start off very weak.
For older people who aren't very mobile and end up in the ER, a test called DEMMI seems better at tracking small improvements in movement than the simple chair-stand test — especially for those who started out the weakest.