The Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) can be used to evaluate the functional impairment of a patient with a disorder of one or both lower extremities. Fidelis-de-Paula Gomes et al reported a shorter version with half of the original questions. The authors are from Universidade Nove de Julho, Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos, Universidade Federal do Maranhao, and Centro Universitario Tiradentes in Brazil.
Patient instructions: Today, do you or would you have any difficulty at all with these activities?
Activities (10):
(1) any of your usual work, housework, or school activities
(6) squatting
(7) lifting an object, like a bag of groceries, from the floor
(9) performing heavy activities around your home
(11) walking 2 blocks (about 1/6th mile, or about 250 meters)
(13) going up or down 10 steps (about 1 flight of stairs)
(14) standing for 1 hour
(15) sitting for 1 hour
(16) running on even ground
(18) making sharp turns while running fast
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Response
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Points
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unable to perform activity, or extreme difficulty
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0
|
|
quite a bit of difficulty
|
1
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|
moderate difficulty
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2
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a little bit of difficulty
|
3
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no difficulty
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4
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LEFS score =
= SUM(points for all 10 activities)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 40
• The lower the score the greater the disability.
percent of maximal function =
= (LEFS score) / 40 * 100
