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No-kit assessment

Timed Up and GoTUG

The TUG captures transfers, gait, and turning in one number, which is why it has become the default one-minute mobility screen. It is best read as a rule-in test for elevated fall risk rather than a definitive predictor: a slow time strongly flags risk, but a normal time does not rule it out.

Safety

Guard the patient throughout, especially at the turn. Do not administer if the patient cannot stand and walk safely with their usual aid, or with acute cardiac, orthopedic, or post-surgical restrictions. Screen for these before starting.

What you need

  • Standard armchair, roughly 17 in seat height (a firm dining chair with arms works)
  • Stopwatch or phone timer
  • 3 meters (about 10 feet) of clear floor, with a line or marker at the turn
  • The patient's usual footwear and usual walking aid

How to administer

  1. 1.Seat the patient with their back against the chair, arms on the armrests, walking aid in hand if used.
  2. 2.Instruct: on 'go', stand, walk to the line at a comfortable and safe pace, turn, walk back, and sit down.
  3. 3.Give one untimed practice trial so the patient knows the route.
  4. 4.Time from the word 'go' until the buttocks touch the chair on return.
  5. 5.Use the same footwear and the same walking aid every time so serial scores are comparable.

Cutoffs and norms

Fall-risk cutoffs by populationverify before clinical use
PopulationCutoffSource
Community-dwelling older adults>= 13.5 secShumway-Cook 2000
Frail elderly, mobility reference< 20 sec independent for most transfers/gaitPodsiadlo 1991

Cutoffs vary by population and study (reported values include 12.6 to 13.5 sec in community elderly and higher thresholds in specific diagnoses). Report the raw time and the reference used; do not treat a single cutoff as universal.

Source: Shumway-Cook et al., 2000

Report the raw time in seconds. Higher is slower and worse. Serial change on the same setup is more informative than one comparison to a cutoff; note whether the patient was unstable on turning and which aid was used, since both change the meaning of the number.

References

  1. Podsiadlo D, Richardson S. The timed 'Up & Go': a test of basic functional mobility for frail elderly persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1991;39(2):142-148. PubMed
  2. Shumway-Cook A, Brauer S, Woollacott M. Predicting the probability for falls in community-dwelling older adults using the Timed Up & Go Test. Phys Ther. 2000;80(9):896-903. PubMed