Introduction: Standing up and sitting down are the most important and common physical activities and a prerequisite for upright mobility and independence. The manoeuvres can be negatively affected by age and pathology, which is why various measures have been developed to assess the sit-to-stand capacity. The most frequently used test in older adults is the Five Times Sit-to-Stand (5TSTS) test, which was developed to assess lower extremity functional muscle strength. Researchers still question the test’s validity as a measure of lower limbs’ strength, as standing is thought to depend on many other factors, including balance. Purpose: To determine the correlation of 5TSTS test with age, lower limbs muscle strength and dynamic balance in functionally independent older adults. Methods: The study included 37 functionally independent older adults aged from 65 to 81 years, mostly females (n = 22). In randomized order we performed 5TSTS test on each subject, tested hip and knee extensor strength using Lafayette dynamometer and performed the four-square-step test and step-up test. The correlation of the 5TSTS test with the age of the subjects, the muscle strength of the lower limbs and the dynamic balance was calculated using the Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: The correlation between the 5TSTS test and the age of the subjects was low positive (ro = 0,38). The correlation between the 5TSTS and hip extensor strength was low negative (ro = ‒0,28), while the correlation with the knee extensor strength was not statistically significant. The 5TSTS test also showed highly positive (ro = 0,72) correlation with the four-square-step test and highly negative (ro = ‒0,76) correlation with the step-up test. Conclusion: The 5TSTS test is simple, fast and cost-free, therefore, in clinical practice we recommend the test for assessment of functional mobility to change the body positions in all functionally independent older adults. Due to a higher correlation with the dynamic balance than with the hip extensor strength, further research on a larger sample of subjects is needed to validate the 5TSTS test as a measure of lower limb muscle strength in functionally independent older adults.
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