Postural Control and Upper-Extremity Motor Impairment Associated with Functional Independence During Acute Stroke Hospitalization: A Cross-Sectional Study.
- 1Faculty of Medicine, University of Prishtina, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo.
- 2Clinic of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Clinical Centre of Kosova, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo.
- 3Clinic of Neurology, University Clinical Centre of Kosova, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo.
Abstract
Background and aim: Postural control and limb motor impairment are essential to functional status after stroke. We aimed to examine the associations of postural control and motor impairment with functional independence during acute stroke hospitalization, with particular attention to the relationship between postural control and upper-extremity motor impairment and whether these domains provide information regarding functional independence. Methods: In this single-center cross-sectional study, 51 adults with acute stroke were assessed 3-10 days after onset. Postural control, motor impairment, functional independence, and disability were evaluated using the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Barthel Index, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS), respectively. Associations were examined using Spearman correlations and multivariable regression. We separately examined the upper-extremity motor impairment using the FMA-UE, and an additional hierarchical regression model evaluated whether PASS provided explanatory information beyond FMA-UE. Results: We found that PASS was strongly associated with FMA-UE (ρ = 0.749, 95% CI 0.554-0.881; p < 0.001), while FMA-UE was associated with the Barthel Index (ρ = 0.799, p < 0.001). A model including age, assessment timing, and FMA-UE explained 83.8% of Barthel Index variance. The addition of PASS increased explained variance to 95.2% (ΔR² = 0.114; p < 0.001), with both FMA-UE (B = 0.505, 95% CI 0.296-0.713; p < 0.001) and PASS (B = 1.955, 95% CI 1.469-2.441; p < 0.001) remaining independently associated with functional independence. Conclusions: Postural control and upper-extremity motor impairment were strongly related but provided complementary information regarding functional independence. Integrating postural assessment with upper-extremity motor assessment may improve early functional characterization and rehabilitation planning after stroke.
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BibTeX
@article{osmanivllasolli2026postural,
title = {{Postural Control and Upper-Extremity Motor Impairment Associated with Functional Independence During Acute Stroke Hospitalization: A Cross-Sectional Study.}},
author = {Teuta Osmani-Vllasolli and Valbona Govori and Artan Murati and Besfort Kryeziu},
journal = {Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/healthcare14203362},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940407},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Postural Control and Upper-Extremity Motor Impairment Associated with Functional Independence During Acute Stroke Hospitalization: A Cross-Sectional Study.
AU - Teuta Osmani-Vllasolli
AU - Valbona Govori
AU - Artan Murati
AU - Besfort Kryeziu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/healthcare14203362
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940407
AB - Background and aim: Postural control and limb motor impairment are essential to functional status after stroke. We aimed to examine the associations of postural control and motor impairment with functional independence during acute stroke hospitalization, with particular attention to the relationship between postural control and upper-extremity motor impairment and whether these domains provide information regarding functional independence. Methods: In this single-center cross-sectional study, 51 adults with acute stroke were assessed 3-10 days after onset. Postural control, motor impairment, functional independence, and disability were evaluated using the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), Barthel Index, and modified Rankin Scale (mRS), respectively. Associations were examined using Spearman correlations and multivariable regression. We separately examined the upper-extremity motor impairment using the FMA-UE, and an additional hierarchical regression model evaluated whether PASS provided explanatory information beyond FMA-UE. Results: We found that PASS was strongly associated with FMA-UE (ρ = 0.749, 95% CI 0.554-0.881; p < 0.001), while FMA-UE was associated with the Barthel Index (ρ = 0.799, p < 0.001). A model including age, assessment timing, and FMA-UE explained 83.8% of Barthel Index variance. The addition of PASS increased explained variance to 95.2% (ΔR² = 0.114; p < 0.001), with both FMA-UE (B = 0.505, 95% CI 0.296-0.713; p < 0.001) and PASS (B = 1.955, 95% CI 1.469-2.441; p < 0.001) remaining independently associated with functional independence. Conclusions: Postural control and upper-extremity motor impairment were strongly related but provided complementary information regarding functional independence. Integrating postural assessment with upper-extremity motor assessment may improve early functional characterization and rehabilitation planning after stroke.
SN - 2227-9032
ER -