Motor Assessment Scale

 

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Objective

The Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) is used to assess everyday motor function in patients with stroke.

Intended Population

Used widely in assessing functional ability for patients with stroke

Method of Use

Description:

• 8 items assess 8 areas of motor function
• Patients perform each task 3 times, only the best performance is recorded
• Items (with the exception of the general tonus item*) are assessed using a 7-point scale (0 to 6)
• A score of 6 indicates optimal motor behavior
• Item scores (with the exception of the general tonus item) are summed to provide an overall score (out of 48 points)
• Completing a higher-level item suggests successful performance on lower-level items and thus lower-items can be skipped.

• For the general tonus item, the score is based on continuous observations throughout the assessment. A score of 4 on this item indicates a consistently normal response, a score > 4 indicates persistent hypertonus, and a score < 4 indicates various degrees of hypotonus (Carr et al, 1985).

Equipment Required:

Stopwatch
8 Jellybeans
Polystyrene cup
Rubber ball
Stool
Comb
Spoon
Pen
2 Tea cups
Water
Prepared sheet for drawing lines
Cylindrical shaped object like a jar
Table

Evidence

Reliability

Test-retest Reliability:

Chronic Stroke:

(Carr et al, 1985; n = 15; mean age = 70 years, range = 42 to 85) 

• Excellent test-retest reliability: r ranged from 0.87 to 1.00 (mean r = 0.98)

Interrater/Intrarater Reliability:

Chronic & Acute Stroke:

(Carr et al, 1985; 20 clinical raters; n = 5; mean age = 65 years, range = 55 to 78; mean time since stroke onset = 14 (range = 6 to 40) weeks) 

• Excellent Interrater Reliability; 87% overall agreement between raters (mean correlation r = 0.95; most agreement = balanced sitting (r = 0.99); least agreement = sitting to standing (r = 0.89).

Validity

Criterion Validity:

Acute Stroke:

(Malouin et al, 1994, n = 32, mean age = 60 years, mean time since stroke = 64.5 days) 

• Excellent Concurrent Validity with Fugl-Meyer (FMA) total scores (r = 0.96, not including general tonus items)
• Adequate to Excellent item level Concurrent Validity between MAS items and similar FMA items (r = 0.65 to 0.93)
• Poor Concurrent Validity with MAS and FMA sitting balance (r = -0.10)

Construct Validity:

Acute Stroke:

(Tyson & DeSouza, 2004; n = 48; mean age = 66.7 (12.5) years; median time since stroke = 11 weeks) 

MAS and functional balance test:

• Adequate Convergent Validity: Sitting arm raise (no. of raises; r = 0.33*)
• Adequate Convergent Validity: Sitting forward reach (cm, r = 0.54**)

• p < 0.05
  ** p < 0.01

Content Validity:

The MAS was developed by Carr and Shepherd (1985) based on many years of experience with similar measures

References

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