Table 5.

Medical Research Council (MRC) Scoring System for Muscle Strength^*

Score	Description
0	No visible contraction	Movements Assessed
1	Visible muscle contraction, but no limb movement	Upper Extremity:	Lower Extremity:
2	Active movement, but not against gravity	Shoulder abduction	Hip flexion
3	Active movement against gravity	Elbow flexion	Knee Extension
4	Active movement against gravity and resistance	Wrist extension	Dorsiflexion
5	Active movement against full resistance

Maximum score: 60 (4 limbs; 3 movements per extremity with maximum score of 15 points per limb)

Minimum score: 0 (quadriplegia)

^*Adapted from Schweickert and Hall. ICU-Acquired Weakness. Chest 2007;31:1541−1549.