A classic for good reason
The Timed Up & Go (TUG) is deceptively simple: a patient rises from a chair, walks a short distance, turns, returns, and sits. One number — the time it takes — captures a great deal about mobility, fall risk, and functional independence. Its simplicity is exactly why it's used everywhere, from busy clinics to research studies.
What a single number leaves out
But the total time hides the story inside the movement. Two patients can post the same TUG time while struggling in completely different ways — one slow to stand, another hesitant in the turn, a third unsteady on the return walk. The headline number tells you that something changed; it doesn't tell you what or why, which is what actually guides treatment.
Adding detail without losing simplicity
Objective capture preserves the test clinicians already trust while breaking it into its component phases: the sit-to-stand, the gait out, the turn, and the return. Each phase becomes its own measurable signal. The clinician still runs the same familiar test, but now the result points to the specific element of mobility that needs work, rather than a single undifferentiated time.
Consistency makes the comparison real
As with any measure, the value comes from comparing it over time, which requires the test to be performed and recorded the same way each visit. Standardized, objective capture removes the small inconsistencies of manual timing and observation. The TUG doesn't need to be replaced — it needs to be resolved at higher fidelity, so the insight it already offers becomes sharper and more actionable.