The correlations between fall experience, balance, mobility and confidence in persons with stroke

Objective: This study conducted in order to investigate the correlations between fall experience, balance, mobility, and confidence. We examined the difference between fall experience, and Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed-Up-and-Go test (TUG), Tinetti balance assessment (Tinetti balance [TiB], Tinetti gait [TiG]), and Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale scores to see how fall experience, balance, mobility, and confidence of the persons with stroke affects their balance. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Forty-one subjects participated in this study. The BBS includes 14 items, consisting of a 5-point scale from 0 to 4, totaling up to 56 points. The Timed Up and Go-Alone (TUGA) was used to measure the average time to take a 3 m round-trip by getting up and down from a 46-cm high chair with an armrest on a flat floor. The Timed-Up-and-Go-Cognitive (TUGC) was performed by counting backwards and the Timed Up and Go-Manual (TUGM) is performed by holding a cup full of water. The total score for the TiB is 16 points, and the TiG is 12 points, making a total of 28 points. There are 16 items total for the ABC scale. Results: According to the fall experience, BBS, the TUGA and TUGC values were significantly higher in the inexperienced group compared to the experienced group (p<0.05). The number of falls was significantly correlated with BBS, TUGA, TUGC, TUGM, TiB, TiG, TiB+TiG (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study supports that falls experience is strongly related to balance, mobility, and confidence. Optimal balance training programs for fall prevention is still insufficient and must be developed.