1 Before you use it
What it is
Count full sit-to-stands in 30 seconds, arms crossed. The repetition-based sibling of the five-times test.
Better for the more capable patient, where five repetitions takes so little time that the measurement is mostly reaction time.
When to reach for it
Knee and hip osteoarthritis, and any lower limb rehabilitation where you want a strength-endurance number that patients find motivating.
Patterns it serves · 2
2 Giving it
Scoring
Count complete stands in 30 seconds; a stand more than halfway up when time expires counts. Arms crossed, standard chair, record the height.
What it doesn’t measure
Isolate a side, or measure maximal strength.
Repeat it
3 Reading the score
Interpreting it
Age- and sex-based normative values exist. No values are printed here — look them up rather than working from memory.
Interpret change against the patient's own baseline first.
Is the change real?
On placement
Hip OA, 71 years old, 8 weeks of strengthening. 30CST 8 stands at intake, 11 today, same chair, arms crossed.
Read it as 3 more stands, over the 2.4-repetition MDC (measured in community-dwelling adults, on remote assessment — in the room the error is unlikely to be larger). Real. Age-and-sex norms exist; look them up rather than quoting one.
Do read the change against the patient's own baseline first, then the norm. Keep the dose climbing and watch the strategy, not just the count.
Student trap. Using a different chair at the review visit. Chair height is part of the test — record it.
Official source: cdc.gov. We don't host the form.
This is a learning tool. It does not diagnose patients and does not replace your clinical educator.
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