Marian E. Michielsen, Mark de Niet, Gerard M. Ribbers, Henk J. Stam, Johannes B. Bussmann
DOI: 10.2340/16501977-0351

Objective: To examine the associations between actual performance in daily life and function, capacity and self-perceived performance of the paretic upper limb following stroke.
Population: Seventeen individuals with stroke.
Outcome measures: Correlation coefficients between actual performance (measured with the Stroke-Upper Limb Activity Monitor), function (Fugl-Meyer Assessment), capacity (Action Research Arm test) and self-perceived performance (ABILHAND questionnaire).
Results: High correlations were found between actual performance and function (r = 0. 75; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0. 42–0. 90), and capacity (r =0. 71; 95% CI: 0. 35–0. 89), whereas a moderate correlation was found between actual performance and self-perceived performance (r = 0. 64; 95% CI: 0. 21–0. 86). For the relationship between actual performance and both function and capacity, logarithmic regression explained more variance than did linear regression.
Conclusion: The present study provides first evidence of the existence of a non-linear relationship between actual performance, function and capacity of the paretic upper limb following stroke. The results indicate that function and capacity need to reach a certain threshold-level before actual performance also starts to increase. Because of the small sample size of the present study caution is needed when generalizing these results.