Scarborough General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Phys Ther. 2010 May;90(5):748-60. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20090100. Epub 2010 Mar 11.
Poor balance control, mobility restrictions, and fall injuries are serious problems for many older adults.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new dynamic standing balance assessment test for identifying individuals at risk for falling in a group of community-dwelling older adults.
This was a cross-sectional observational study of 72 community-dwelling older adults who were receiving rehabilitation in a geriatric day hospital.
A Dynamic Balance Assessment (DBA) test protocol was developed based on the concept of the Sensory Organization Test and the Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction and Balance. The DBA consists of 6 tasks performed on a normal floor surface and repeated on a sponge surface. A flexible pressure mat was used to record the foot's center of pressure (COP) on both surfaces, and loss of balance was recorded. Balance performance also was evaluated using the Berg Balance Scale, the Timed "Up & Go" Test, gait speed, and the Six-Minute Walk Test. Participants were classified as "fallers" or "nonfallers" based on a self-report.
No significant differences were noted between the faller group (n=47) and the nonfaller group (n=25) for demographic variables or medications. The DBA composite scores, which were derived from analysis of COP excursions of the 6 tasks performed on the sponge surface, were able to distinguish between fallers and nonfallers. Of the clinical tests, only the Timed "Up & Go" Test was able to differentiate between the faller and nonfaller groups. Limitations A prospective study is needed to confirm the current findings and to expand testing to a larger and more diverse sample.
The findings indicate that analysis of the extent and amount of COP displacements during selected tasks and under different surface conditions is an appropriate method to assess dynamic standing balance controls and can discriminate between fallers and nonfallers among community-dwelling elderly people.
平衡控制能力差、行动受限和跌倒损伤是许多老年人面临的严重问题。
本研究旨在评估一种新的动态站立平衡评估测试，以识别社区居住的老年人中跌倒风险较高的个体。
这是一项针对在老年日医院接受康复治疗的 72 名社区居住老年人的横断面观察性研究。
根据感觉组织测试和临床感觉相互作用和平衡测试的概念，开发了动态平衡评估（DBA）测试方案。DBA 由在正常地面表面上进行的 6 项任务组成，并在海绵表面上重复进行。使用柔性压力垫记录双脚在两个表面上的中心压力（COP），并记录失去平衡的情况。平衡性能还通过 Berg 平衡量表、计时“站起来”测试、步态速度和六分钟步行测试进行评估。参与者根据自我报告分为“跌倒者”或“非跌倒者”。
在人口统计学变量或药物使用方面，跌倒组（n=47）和非跌倒组（n=25）之间没有显著差异。从在海绵表面上进行的 6 项任务的 COP 偏移分析得出的 DBA 综合评分能够区分跌倒者和非跌倒者。在临床测试中，只有计时“站起来”测试能够区分跌倒者和非跌倒者组。局限性：需要进行前瞻性研究来证实当前的发现，并将测试扩展到更大和更多样化的样本。
研究结果表明，分析在不同表面条件下进行特定任务时 COP 位移的程度和幅度是评估动态站立平衡控制的合适方法，可以区分社区居住老年人中的跌倒者和非跌倒者。
