Short-term repeatability of body sway during quiet standing in people with hemiparesis and in frail older adults.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate short-term repeatability of a posturographic quiet standing test protocol in people with hemiparesis and in frail older adults.


METHODS
Test-retest design, using 5 different quiet standing task conditions in which size and compliance of the support surface, visual influence, and cognitive demands were manipulated. Retest was performed after 15 minutes.


METHODS
Rehabilitation units and day care center.


METHODS
Twenty-three people with stroke (mean age, 74.4y) and 16 frail older adults (mean age, 82.1y).


METHODS
Not applicable.


METHODS
Repeatability of trunk acceleration root mean square by within-subject standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs).


RESULTS
The ICC(1,2) ranged from.13 to.75 for people with hemiparesis and from.73 to.92 for frail older adults when tested with their eyes open. The least demanding task condition gave the best repeatability. Standing with eyes closed resulted in very low ICC(1,2) in people with hemiparesis (.16) and in frail older adults (-.18). Interpretation of the results was similar for the other 2 reliability measures.


CONCLUSIONS
A mean of 2 repeated measures gave adequate repeatability for frail older adults but not for people with stroke when they were tested with their eyes open. This study showed the importance of establishing short-term repeatability relative to each clinical population in which such tests are used.
Helbostad
Jorunn L
JL
Section of Physiotherapy Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. jorunn.helbostad@isf.uib.no
Askim
Torunn
T
Moe-Nilssen
Rolf
R
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010291:Paresis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology