AIMS: Reduced functional performance and muscular dysfunction after knee injury and in knee osteoarthritis (OA) is suggested to be a factor in OA development. Validated functional performance tests applicable in the clinic and large-scale studies are lacking. The aim was to study the reliability and validity of 10 functional performance tests.

METHODS: Two hundred and eighty-five subjects, 15-22 years post-meniscectomy, performed 10 functional performance tests. The mean age was 54 years (SD+/-11.2) and 79% were men; 52% had radiographic OA, and 48% were categorized as symptomatic. The tests were evaluated for test-retest reliability, discriminative ability (younger vs older age, men vs women, symptom-free vs symptomatic) and floor and ceiling effects.

RESULTS: Two of the 10 tests, maximum number of knee bendings in 30 s and one-leg hop for distance, had good test-retest reliability (ICC 0.92, 95% CI 0.86-0.96 and 0.93, 95% CI 0.87-0.97) and were able to discriminate with regard to age, gender and symptoms, and had acceptable floor effects (9% and 3%, respectively).

CONCLUSION: This study suggests the use of two functional performance tests: knee bendings/30 s and one-leg hop for distance, easy to use for evaluation of interventions due to knee injury and knee OA and when attaining long-term data of natural disease history.