Abstract
Adults over the age of 70 are at risk of falling. Various balance tests have been developed to identify balance dysfunctions. Their disadvantages including ceiling effects and low sensitivity and duration led to the development of a new balance test. The present study was conducted to determine the concurrent validity, reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of the Zur Balance Scale (ZBS). In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 76 senior adults were recruited from an independent senior living community and were administered the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the ZBS. The BBS was used as the standard of comparison. The ZBS includes head movements and time to maintain to balance. All the subjects completed the tests. Concurrent validity was r = 0.782 (p < 0.0001). The ZBS had high intra-test (0.897) and inter-test (0.934) correlation coefficients. Its sensitivity was 60 % and specificity 91 % for identifying falls. The dynamic portions of the ZBS capture the integration of the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems, as it mimics dynamic spatial aspects of daily activities. We conclude that the ZBS is reliable compared with BBS. It is a simple, easy to administer test that may predict future risk of falls.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agrawal Y, Carey JP, Della Santina CC, Schubert MC, Minor LB (2009) Disorders of balance and vestibular function in US adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001–2004. Arch Intern Med 169(10):938–944
Berg K, Wood-Dauphine S, Williams JI, Gayton D (1989) Measuring balance in the elderly: preliminary development of an instrument. Physiother Can 41(6):304–311
Boulgarides LK, McGinty SM, Willett JA, Barnes CW (2003) Use of clinical and impairment-based tests to predict falls by community-dwelling older adults. Phys Ther 83(4):328–339
de Castro V, Mokoroa O, Artieda J, Muniozguren N, Etxebarriarteun L, Alvarez L, Garcia Calabuig MA, Red de MédicosVigía del País Vasco (2015) Epidemiology of accidents in a cohort of adults over 64 years old in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. Rev Esp Geriatr Gerontol 50(6):281–284 (Article in Spanish)
Geiger AG, Allen JB, O’Keefe J, Hicks RR (2001) Balance and mobility following stroke: effects of physical therapy interventions with and without biofeedback/forceplate training. PhysTher 81(4):995–1005
Horak FB (1997) Clinical assessment of balance disorders. Gait Posture 6(1):76–84
King LA, Priest KC, Slarin A, Pierce D, Horak FB (2012) Comparing the Mini-BESTest with the Berg Balance Scale to evaluate balance disorders in Parkinson’s disease. Park Dis 2012:375–419
La Porta F, Caselli S, Susassi S, Cavallini P, Tennant A, Franceschini M (2012) Is the Berg Balance Scale an internally valid and reliable measure of balance across different etiologies in neurorehabilitation? A revisited Rasch analysis study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 93(7):1209–1216
Langley FA, MacKintosh SFH (2007) Functional balance assessment of older community dwelling adults: a systematic review of the literature. Internet J Allied Health Sci Pract 5(4):1–11
Lin YH, Chen TR, Tang YW, Wang CY (2012) A reliability study for standing functional reach test using modified and traditional rulers. Percept Mot Skills 115(2):512–520
Malstrom EM, Karlberg M, Melander A, Magnusson M, Moritz U (2007) Cervicogenic dizziness-musculoskeletal findings before and after treatment and long-term outcome. Disabil Rehabil 29(15):1193–1205
Muir SW, Berg K, Chesworth B, Speechley M (2008) Use of the Berg Balance Scale for predicting multiple falls in community-dwelling elderly people: a prospective study. Phys Ther 88(4):449–459
O’Sullivan M, Blake C, Cunningham C, Boyle G, Finucane C (2009) Correlation of accelerometry with clinical balance tests in older fallers and non-fallers. Age Ageing 38(3):308–313
Pardasaney PK, Latham NK, Jette AM, Wagenaar RC, Ni P, Slavin MD, Bean JF (2012) Sensitivity to change and responsiveness of four balance measures for community-dwelling older adults. Phys Ther 92(3):388–397
Park MK, Kim KM, Jung J, Lee N, Hwang SJ, Chae SW (2013) Evaluation of uncompensated unilateral vestibulopathy using the modified clinical test for sensory interaction and balance. Otol Neurotol 34(2):292–296
Roe B, Howell F, Riniotis K, Beech R, Crome P, Ong BN (2009) Older people and falls: health status, quality of life, lifestyle, care networks, prevention and views on service use following a recent fall. J Clin Nurs 18(16):2261–2272
Rose DJ, Lucchese N, Wiersma LD (2006) Development of a multidimensional balance scale for use with functionally independent older adults. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 87(11):1478–1485
Rubenstein LZ (2006) Clinical risk assessment, interventions and services: falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention. Age Ageing 35(2)-S2, ii37–ii41
Stevenson TJ (2001) Detecting change in participants with stroke using the Berg Balance Scale. Aust J Physiother 47(1):29–38
Weiss A, Brozgol M, Dorfman M, Herman T, Shema S, Giladi N, Hausdorff JM (2013) Using 3-day accelerometer recordings. Does the evaluation of gait quality during daily life provide insight into fall risk? A novel approach. Neurorehab Neural Repair 27(8):742–752
Whitney S, Wrisley D, Furman J (2003) Concurrent validity of the Berg Balance Scale and the dynamic gait index in people with vestibular dysfunction. Physiother Res Int 8(4):178–186
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Profs. Cortney Hall and Michael Shubert for their comments on the previous files. Special thanks go to the physical therapists Yakir Ariam and Yair Ohel who performed the examinations and to the professional staff of Beit Ildan. The manuscript was edited by Faye Schreiber. Nava Jelin performed the statistical analysis.
Conflicts of Interest
This study was not supported by external funding. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Zur, O., Shaki, T., Carmeli, E. (2015). Concurrent Validity and Reliability of a New Balance Scale Used in Older Adults. In: Pokorski, M. (eds) Respiratory Medicine and Science. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 910. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/5584_2015_207
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/5584_2015_207
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-30658-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-30659-9
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)