Mobility Assessment in Older Adults

Impaired mobility and falls are common in adults older than 60 years of age. Falls are associated with an increased risk of hospitalization and serious injury.1 Frailty, also common in older adults, is characterized by a reduced ability to respond to physiological stressors, which may lead to adverse health outcomes, increased health care costs, and decreased survival.2 A mobility assessment is an important component of the overall assessment of well-being in an older person.1 A change in mobility or walking speed can be an indicator of the risk of falls and frailty.3 There are many validated tests for the assessment of mobility in older persons (see Table 1). The accompanying video demonstrates several techniques used in performing a focused mobility assessment, including the chair stand test, in which the patient is asked to stand up from a sitting position (also called the sit-to-stand test), the four-stage balance test, and a technique for measuring gait speed. Each of the tests included in this assessment take less than 2 minutes to complete. Copyright © 2021 Massachusetts Medical Society.