MOTOR ASSESSMENT SCALE (MAS)
The Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) is a performance-based tool used to evaluate a
stroke patient's degree of disability and daily motor function.
INTENDED POPULATION
Physical therapists frequently use it to evaluate the functional ability of stroke
patients.
DESCRIPTIONS:
8 items assess 8 areas of motor function.
Patients perform each 3 times, only the best performance is recorded.
Items (with the exception of the general tonus item) are assessed using a 7-point
scale (0 to 6).
a score of 6 indicates optimal motor behavior.
item scores (with the exception of the general tonus item) are summed to provide an
overall score (out of 48 points)
completing a higher level item suggests successful performance on lower level items
and thus lower items can be skipped.
ITEMS:
Supine to side lying
Supine to sitting over the edge of a bed
Balanced sitting
Sitting to standing
Walking
Upper-arm function
Hand movements
Advanced hand activities
1. Supine to side lying onto intact side:
1. pulls self into side lying. (Starting position must be supine lying, legs extended.
Patient pull self into side lying with intact arm, moves affected leg with intact leg).
2. Moves legs across actively and the lower half of the body follows. starting position as
above. Arm is left behind
3. Arms is lifted across body with other arm. Leg is moved actively and body follows in a
block. (Starting position is above).
4. Moves arm across body actively and the rest of the body follows in a block. (starting
position as above)
5. Moves arm and leg and rolls to side but overbalance. (starting position as above).
Shoulder protracts and arm flexes forward.
6. Rolls to side in 3 seconds. (Starting position as above. Must not use hand)
2. Supine to sitting over the EOB:
1. Side lying, lifts head sides ways but cannot sit up. (Patient assisted to side lying).
2. Side lying to sitting over side of bed. (Therapist assist patient with movement. Patient
controls head position throughout).
3. Side lying to sitting over side of bed. (Therapist give standby help by assisting leg
over side of bed).
4. Side lying to sitting over side of bed. (With no stand by help)
5. Supine to sitting over side of bed. (With no stand by help)
6. Supine to sitting over side of bed within 10 sec. (With no stand by help)
3. Balanced sitting:
1. Sits only with support. (Therapist should assist patient into sitting).
2. Sits unsupported for 10 seconds. (Without holding on knees and feet together, feet
can be supported on floor).
3. Sits unsupported with weight well forward and evenly distributed. (Weight should be
well forward with hips flexed, head and thoracic spine extended, weight evenly
distributed on both sides.
4. Sits unsupported, turns head and trunk to look behind. (Feet supported and together
on floor. Do not allows hands to move onto plinth. Turn to each side.)
5. Sits unsupported, reaches forward to touch floor, and returns to starting position.
Feet supported on floor, do not allow patient to hold on. Do not allows legs and feet
to move, support affected arm if necessary. Hand must touch floor at least 10 cm in
front of feet. Reach with each arm.
6. Sits on stool unsupported, reaches sideways to touch the floor, and return to starting
position. (Feet support on floor. Do not allow patient to hold on. Do not allows legs
and feet to move, support affected arm if necessary. Patient must reach sideways not
forward. Reach to both sides.
4.Sitting to standing:
1. Gets to standing with help from therapist. (Any method)
2. Gets to standing with stand-by help. (Weight unevenly distributed, use hand for
support)
3. Gets to standing. (Do not allow uneven weight distribution or help from hand)
4. Gets to standing and stands for 5 seconds with hips and knees extended. (Do not
allow uneven weight distribution).
5. Sitting to standing to sitting with no stand-by help. (Do not allow uneven weight
distribution. Full extension hips and knees.)
6. Sitting to standing to sitting with no stand-by help three times in 10 seconds,
(Do not allow uneven weight distribution.)
5. Walking:
1. Stands on affected leg and steps forward with other leg. (Weight-bearing hip must be
extended. Therapist may give standby help.)
2. Walks with standby help from one person.
3. Walks 3 m (10 ft) alone or uses any aid but no standby help.
4. Walks 5 m (16 ft) with no aid in 15 seconds.
5. Walks 10 m (33 ft) with no aid, picks up a small sandbag from the floor, turns around
and walks back in 25 seconds. (May use either hand)
6. Walks up and down four steps with or without an aid but without holding on to the rail
three times in 35 seconds.
6. Upper arm function:
1. Supine, protract shoulder girdle with arm in 90 degrees of shoulder flexion. (therapist
places arm in position and support elbow in extension).
2. Supine, hold arm in 90 degrees of shoulder flexion for 2 seconds (therapist places
arm in position and patient must maintain position with 45 degrees ext rotation.
Elbow must be held 20 degrees of full extension
3. Supine, hold arm in 90 degrees of shoulder flexion, flex and extend elbow to take
palm to forehead. (therapist may assist supination of forearm)
4. Sitting, hold extended arm in forward flexion at 90 degrees to body for 2 seconds
(therapist should place arm in position and patient maintains position. Patient should
place arm in mid-rotation {thumb pointing up}
5. Sitting, patient lifts arm to above position, hold it there for 10 seconds and then
lowers it. (pt must maintain position with some external rotation. Do not allow
pronation)
6. Standing, hand against wall. Maintain hand position, while turning body towards wall
(Arm is abducted to 90 degrees with palm flat against the wall)
7. Hand movement:
1. Sitting, extension of wrist (pt sits at a table with forearm resting on the table.
Therapist places cyndrical object in palm of pt’s hand. Pt is asked to lift the object off
the table by extending wrist. Do not allow elbow flexion.)
2. Sitting, radial deviation of wrist. (Therapist places forearm in mid pronation-
supination, resting on ulnar side,thumb in line with forearm and wrist in extension,
fingers around cylindrical object. Pt is asked to lift hand off table. Do not allow elbow
flexion or pronation)
3. Sitting, elbow into side, pronation and supination
4. Sitting, reach forward, pick up large ball of 14cm diameter with both hands and put it
down. (ball should be placed on table at a distance that requires elbow extension.
Palms should kept contact with ball)
5. Sitting, pick up a polystyrene cup from table and put it on table across other side of
body. (Do not allow alteration in shape of cup)
6. Sitting, continuous opposition of thumb and each finger more than 14 times in 10 sec.
(Each finger in turn taps the thumb, starting with index finger. Do not allow thumb to
slide from one finger to the other, or go backwards)
8. Advanced hand activities:
1. Pick up the top of a pen and put it down again (Pt reaches forward to arm’s length,
pick up pen top, release it on table close to body)
2. Pick up one jellybean from a cup and place it in another cup. (Teacup contains eight
jellybeans. Both cup must be at arm’s length. Left hand takes jellybean from cup on
right and release it in cup on left.
3. Draw horizontal line to stop at a vertical line 10 times in 20 sec. (At least five lines
must touch and stop at the vertical line. Lines should be approximately 10 cm in
length)
4. Hold a pen, make rapid consecutive dots on a sheet of paper. (Pt must do at least 2
dots a second for 5 sec. Pt pick pen up and position it without assistance. Pen must
be held as for writing. Dots not dashes)
5. Take a dessert spoon of liquid to the mouth. (Do not allow head to lower towards
spoon. Liquid must not spill)
6. Hold a comb and comb hair at back of head. (Shoulder must be externally rotated,
abducted at least 90 degrees)
REFERENCE:
Motor Assessment Scale - FAQ | OT | School of Health Professions | SUNY Downstate.
(n.d.).
Www.downstate.edu.https://www.downstate.edu/education-training/school-of-health-
professions/programs/occupationaltherapy/resources/mas/faq.html#:~:text=The%20Motor
%20Assessment%20Scale%20(MAS)%20is%20a%20standardized%20assessment
%20developed
Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) – Strokengine. (n.d.).
https://strokengine.ca/en/assessments/motor-assessment-scale-mas/
Sisto, S. A. (2018). Motor Assessment Scale. Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology,
2279–2280.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1843
Themes, U. F. O. (2017, July 27). Motor Assessment Scale (MAS). Nurse Key.
https://nursekey.com/motor-assessment-scale-mas/
