The 4-Stage Balance Test
Original Editor - Gabriele Dara
Top Contributors - Gabriele Dara, Lucinda hampton, Admin, Kim Jackson and Shaimaa Eldib
Objective
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To evaluate static balance.
Intended Population
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The test is intended to be performed in the elderly population.
Method of Use[edit | edit source]
The test, performed from a standing position, involves 4 different tasks which are progressively increasing in difficulty. Each posture is maintained for a maximum of 10 seconds which are recorded by the therapist with a stopwatch. The latter is responsible for pronouncing "start" and "stop" at the beginning and end of each task respectively.
A description of each of the 4 tasks is presented below: 1. The subject is asked to maintain the standing position while keeping the feet side-by-side ("parallel stance"). 2. The patient is asked to hold a "semi-tandem" position in which the subject's preferred foot is placed forward. 3. In the third task, the subject is required to hold a tandem stance for 10s. 4. In the fourth and last task, the subject is asked to maintain balance in a single-leg stance.
NOTE: If the subject is not able to sustain the posture for at least 10 seconds, the test is stopped and the therapist must record the number of seconds which were completed.
Outcome[edit | edit source]
Not being able to hold the tandem stance (task number 3) for 10 seconds is an indication of increased risk of fall. (REFERENCE)
=== Reliability === calculated on 972 subjects with 3-12 months between test and re-test is reported to be 0.45 Interclass (Pearson) correlations, with time between test and re-test of 3-4 months, 187 subjects from the community) is reported as moderate (0.66) (REFERENCE)
Validity[edit | edit source]
A robust correlation has been reported when comparing the scale with other measurements for balance, in the same subjects:
