Treatment & Measurement of Balance

• How do we treat problems with balance?

  • Based on findings from your Graded Balance Assessment and your understanding of the cause of instability in your patient
  • Based on which systems affected – remember that the cause of instability is complex and multifaceted
  • Therefore, no single treatment likely to be effective
  • Relate treatment to the overall functional goals of your patient
  • Balance is a skill you can keep or re-capture!!
• Don’t forget…integrate motor control and motor learning to maximise rehabilitation:

  • How can I best structure practice (therapy) to ensure learning?
  • How can I ensure that skills learned in one context transfer to others?
  • Will simplifying a task (making it easier to perform) result in more efficient learning? i.e. sit on a stable BoS
  • What is the best way to promote motor learning for the (re)- acquisition of function?
  • i.e. balance is an open motor skill, so you progress by diversification, not fixation
• Balance Outcome Measures:

  • Timed up and Go (TUAG)
  • Tinnetti (balance component)
  • Berg Balance Scale
  • 10m walk test
  • Brunel Balance Scale
  • Rhomberg test
  • Modified Clinical Test for Sensory Interaction in balance (mCTSIB)
  • Mini-BESTest