Standing balance and function over the course of acute rehabilitation.

The purpose of this study of 52 acute rehabilitation patients was to describe the reliability and responsiveness of measurements of standing balance and function and to establish the relationships between the measurements over the course of rehabilitation. Standing balance was measured with a seven-level (0 through 6) ordinal scale. Three functional activities (chair to mat transfer, locomotion, and stair climbing) were measured using Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores. Balance and FIM scores were found to be reliable (weighted kappa > .85). Balance and FIM scores increased significantly (p < .000) between initial and final assessments (mean interval = 17.5 days). All FIM scores were correlated significantly, both cross-sectionally (rs = .444 to .774) and longitudinally (rs = .279 to .616), with balance. Moreover, changes in FIM scores were correlated significantly with changes in balance (rs = .413 to .595). The results of this study support the use of the ordinal balance scale described herein in an acute rehabilitation setting.