The relevance of trunk evaluation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: the segmental assessment of trunk control

The aim was to describe trunk control in ambulant and non-ambulant patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a sample of 50 DMD patients, (M age = 16.7 years) who underwent the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo). A seven-level scale of trunk control was used (1: head control only; 7: control of entire trunk while unsupported). Static, active and reactive posture control were evaluated in ambulant and non-ambulant patients. Inter-rater reliability for all assessments was evaluated by calculating the kappa coefficient. More advanced disease (having higher Vignos scores), was associated with poorer trunk control. Ambulant patients showed better trunk control than non-ambulant patients (p = 0.003). There was strong inter-rater agreement for SATCo scale scores.