Functional balance assessment with pediatric balance scale in girls with visual impairment.
OBJECTIVE
To examine functional balance abilities in girls with visual impairment (VI) and to investigate the correlation between stabilography and clinical balance assessment using the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) in girls with VI.


METHODS
The PBS and stabilography were administered to 26 girls with VI aged 10 to 15 years. The association between PBS scores and sway parameters was examined using the Spearman correlation coefficient.


RESULTS
The range of PBS scores was 47 to 56. Balance difficulties appeared in single-leg stance, tandem stance, and reaching forward. The PBS scores correlated with all but 2 sway parameters, with r values ranging from -0.18 to -0.58.


CONCLUSIONS
Girls with VI present difficulties in upright stance when the size of the base of support is narrowed and in situations where the center of gravity approaches the edge of the base of support. There is a need to provide interventions to improve balance abilities in girls with VI.
Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center (Ms Zylka), Konstancin, Poland; Rehabilitation Department (Ms Lach), Educational Center for Blind Children, Laski, Poland; Department of Theory and Methodology of Physical Education for People with Disabilities (Dr Rutkowska), Faculty of Rehabilitation, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education, Warsaw, Poland.
Justyna
J
Zyłka
Urszula
U
Lach
Izabela
I
Rutkowska
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation