Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 87, Issue 11 , Pages 1478-1485 , November 2006

Development of a Multidimensional Balance Scale for Use With Functionally Independent Older Adults

Presented in part to the Joint Conference of the National Council on Aging and American Society on Aging, March 2003, Chicago, IL.

  • Debra J. Rose, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Center for Successful Aging, California State University, Fullerton, CA
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests to Debra J. Rose, PhD, Center for Successful Aging, KHS 245, California State University, 800 N State College Blvd, Fullerton, CA 92834
    • ,
  • Nicole Lucchese, MS

      Affiliations

    • Center for Successful Aging, California State University, Fullerton, CA
    • ,
  • Lenny D. Wiersma, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton, CA.

References 

  1. Tideiksaar R. Falling in old age. 2nd ed. New York: Springer; 1997;
  2. Hausdorff JM, Rios DA, Edelber HK. Gait variability and fall risk in community-living older adults: a 1-year prospective study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2004;82:1050–1056
  3. Alexander BH, Rivara FP, Wolf ME. The cost and frequency of hospitalization for fall-related injuries in older adults. Am J Public Health. 1992;82:1020–1023
  4. Englander F, Hodson TJ, Terregrossa RA. Economic dimensions of slip and fall injuries. J Forensic Sci. 1996;41:733–746
  5. Arroyo JF, Herrmann F, Saber H, et al. Fast evaluation test for mobility, balance, and fear: a new strategy for the screening of elderly fallers. [abstract] Arthritis Rheum. 1994;37:S416
  6. Di Fabio RP, Seay R. Use of the “Fast evaluation of mobility, balance, and fear” in elderly community dwellers: validity and reliability. Phys Ther. 1997;77:904–915
  7. Berg KO, Wood-Dauphinee S, Williams JI, Gayton D. Measuring balance in the elderly: preliminary development of an instrument. Physiother Can. 1989;41:304–311
  8. Berg KO, Wood-Dauphinee SL, Williams JI, Maki B. Measuring balance in the elderly: validation of an instrument. Can J Public Health. 1992;83(Suppl 2):S7–S11
  9. Berg KO, Maki BE, Williams JI, Holliday PJ, Wood-Dauphinee SL. Clinical and laboratory measures of postural balance in an elderly population. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1992;73:1073–1080
  10. Lord SR, Menz HB, Tiedemann A. A physiological profile approach to falls risk assessment and prevention. Phys Ther. 2003;83:237–252
  11. Reuben DB, Siu AL. An objective measure of physical function of elderly outpatients: the physical performance test. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1990;38:1105–1112
  12. Tinetti ME. Performance-oriented assessment of mobility problems in elderly patients. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1986;34:119–126
  13. Wolfson L, Whipple R, Amerman P, Tobin JN. Gait assessment in the elderly: a gait abnormality rating scale and its relation to falls. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1986;45:M12–M19
  14. Rose DJ, Clark S. Can the control of bodily orientation be significantly improved in older adults with a history of falls?. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2000;48:275–282
  15. Rubenstein LZ, Josephson KR, Trueblood PR. Effects of a group exercise program on strength, mobility, and falls among fall-prone elderly men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2000;55:M317–M321
  16. Barnett A, Smith B, Lord SR, Williams M, Baumand A. Community-based exercise improves balance and reduces falls in at-risk older people: a randomized controlled trial. Age Ageing. 2003;32:407–414
  17. Chang JT, Morton SC, Rubenstein LZ, et al. Interventions for the prevention of falls in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. BMJ. 2004;328:680–683
  18. Bogle Thorbahn LD, Newton RA. Use of the berg balance test to predict falls in elderly persons. Phys Ther. 1996;76:576–585
  19. Newton RA. Balance screening of an inner city older adult population. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1997;78:587–591
  20. Wee JY, Bagg SD, Palepu A. The Berg balance scale as a predictor of length of stay and discharge destination in an acute stroke rehabilitation setting. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1999;80:448–452
  21. Wee JY, Wong H, Palepu A. Validation of the Berg Balance Scale as a predictor of length of stay and discharge destination in stroke rehabilitation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2003;84:731–735
  22. Garland SJ, Stevenson TJ, Ivanova T. Postural responses to unilateral arm perturbation in young, elderly, and hemiplegic subjects. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1997;78:1072–1077
  23. Allison L. Relationships between postural control system impairments and disabilities. Corvallis: Oregon State Univ; 1997;[master’s thesis]
  24. Shumway-Cook A, Woollacott MH. Motor control: theory and practical applications. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2001;
  25. Bohannon RW, Larkin PA, Cook AC. Decrease in timed balance scores with aging. Phys Ther. 1984;64:1067–1070
  26. Bosco C, Komi PV. Influence of aging on the mechanical behaviour of leg extensor muscles. Eur J Appl Physiol. 1980;45:209–219
  27. Chen HC, Ashton-Miller JA, Alexander NB, Schultz AB. Effects of age and available response time on ability to step over an obstacle. J Gerontol. 1994;49:M227–M233
  28. Cohen H, Heaton LG, Congdon SL, Jenkins HA. Changes in sensory organization test scores with age. Age Ageing. 1996;25:39–44
  29. Chandler JM, Duncan PW, Studenski SA. Balance performance on the postural stress test: comparison of young adults, healthy elderly, and fallers. Phys Ther. 1990;70:410–415
  30. Duncan PW, Weiner DK, Chandler J, Studenski S. Functional reach: a new clinical measure of balance. J Gerontol. 1990;45:192–197
  31. Luchies CW, Alexander NB, Schultz AB, Ashton-Miller J. Stepping responses of young and old adults to postural disturbances: kinematics. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1994;42:506–512
  32. McIlroy WE, Maki BE. Age-related changes in compensatory stepping in response to unpredictable perturbations. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1996;51:M289–M296
  33. Pearson MB, Bassey EJ, Bendall MJ. Muscle strength and anthropometric indices in elderly men and women. Age Ageing. 1985;14:49–54
  34. Skelton DA, Greig CA, Davies JM, Young A. Strength, power and related functional ability of healthy people aged 65-89 years. Age Ageing. 1994;23:371–377
  35. Speers RA, Ashton-Miller JA, Schultz AB, Alexander NB. Age differences in abilities to perform tandem stand and walk tasks of graded difficulty. Gait Posture. 1998;7:207–213
  36. Campbell AJ, Borrie MJ, Spears GF, Jackson SL, Brown JS, Fitzgerald JL. Circumstances and consequences of falls experienced by a community population 70 years and over during a prospective study. [published erratum appears in: Age Ageing 1990;19:345-6] Age Ageing. 1990;19:136–141
  37. Duncan PW, Studenski S, Chandler J, Prescott B. Functional reach: predictive validity in a sample of elderly male veterans. J Gerontology. 1992;47:M93–M98
  38. Lord SR, McLean D, Stathers G. Physiologic factors associated with injurious falls in older people living in the community. Gerontology. 1992;38:338–346
  39. Studenski S, Duncan PW, Chandler J. Postural responses and effector factors in persons with unexplained falls: results and methodologic issues. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1991;39:229–234
  40. Vellas BJ, Wayne SJ, Romero L, Baumgartner RN, Rubenstein LZ, Garry PJ. One-leg balance is an important predictor of injurious falls in older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997;45:735–738
  41. Allison L, Fuller K. Balance and vestibular disorders. In:  Umphred DA editors. Neurological rehabilitation. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2001;p. 616–660
  42. Shephard NT, Telian SA. Programmatic vestibular rehabilitation. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1995;112:173–182
  43. Shumway-Cook A, Horak F. Assessing the influence of sensory interaction on balance. Phys Ther. 1986;66:1548–1550
  44. Rikli RE, Jones CJ. The reliability and validity of the 6-minute walk test as a measure of physical endurance in older adults. J Aging Phys Act. 1998;6:363–375
  45. Portney LG, Watkins MP. Foundations of clinical research: applications to practice. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall; 2000;
  46. Aiken LR. Three coefficients for analyzing the reliability and validity of ratings. Educ Psychol Meas. 1985;45:131–142
  47. Rose DJ. Fallproof: a comprehensive balance and mobility program. Champaign: Human Kinetics; 2003;

 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.

PII: S0003-9993(06)00868-9

doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2006.07.263

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 87, Issue 11 , Pages 1478-1485 , November 2006

Article Tools