title: Potential of the smart balance master system to assess standing balance in people with incomplete spinal cord injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the concurrent validity of the Smart Balance Master (SBM) tests in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Correlational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 32 individuals with an American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale D spinal cord injury able to walk 10 m independently, with or without walking assistive devices.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outcome measures obtained from static and dynamic balance tests while standing using the SBM were compared to data obtained from the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) (14 items).
  
  
  RESULTS
  No difference in performance between paraplegic and tetraplegic subjects was noted in the SBM tests. No ceiling effect was apparent in the SBM tests. The highest levels of association with the BBS was found for the limits of stability test (-0.416 < R < -0.752, p ≤ 0.05). The limits of stability test also correlated significantly with the majority of the other SBM tests and, except for the weight-shifting test, was completed by all but two participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The limits of stability test of the SBM system appears to be useful for assessing dynamic standing-balance ability in spinal cord injury subjects and could potentially be used to complement the BBS.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de pathokinésiologie, Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation CRIR, Institut de réadaptation Gingras-Lindsay de Montréal IRGLM, H3S 2J4 Montreal, Canada. jf.lemay@umontreal.ca
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lemay
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nadeau
mesh_terms: D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D004856:Postural Balance; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*