title: Machines that go "ping" may improve balance but may not improve mobility or reduce risk of falls: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effectiveness of computer-based electronic devices that provide feedback in improving mobility and balance and reducing falls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized controlled trials were searched from the earliest available date to August 2013.
  
  
  METHODS
  Standardized mean differences were used to complete meta-analyses, with statistical heterogeneity being described with the I-squared statistic. The GRADE approach was used to summarize the level of evidence for each completed meta-analysis. Risk of bias for individual trials was assessed with the (Physiotherapy Evidence Database) PEDro scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty trials were included. There was high-quality evidence that computerized devices can improve dynamic balance in people with a neurological condition compared with no therapy. There was low-to-moderate-quality evidence that computerized devices have no significant effect on mobility, falls efficacy and falls risk in community-dwelling older adults, and people with a neurological condition compared with physiotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is high-quality evidence that computerized devices that provide feedback may be useful in improving balance in people with neurological conditions compared with no therapy, but there is a lack of evidence supporting more meaningful changes in mobility and falls risk.
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy, Eastern Health, 3152 Wantirna, Australia . Amy.Dennett@easternhealth.org.au.
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dennett
authors.forename: Nicholas F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*