Measuring balance in sub-acute stroke rehabilitation

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Abstract
The objectives of this study were to investigate if more aspects of balance abilities could be obtained by using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) in addition to the balance items (sitting/sitting to standing/walking) of the Motor Assessment Scale (MAS), and to examine change. Forty-four patients in a sub-acute stroke rehabilitation unit were scored on the MAS and the BBS on admission and discharge. Balance was investigated by correlation analyses. Change was explored by calculating ceiling effects at admission, number of patients changing scores and Standardized Response Means (SRMs). Spearman's correlation coefficients between the MAS and the BBS ranged from 0.58 to 0.94, p≤0.01. The ceiling effects were high, range: 48–57% for the MAS items, 46–100% for the BBS items. Below ceiling, the number of patients changing scores ranged from six (26%) to 10 (45%) patients on the MAS items and from two (15%) to 10 (50%) patients on the BBS items. The SRMs ranged from −0.2 to 0.5 for the MAS items and from 0.0 to 0.5 for the BBS items. In this study, no more aspects of balance abilities were obtained by using the BBS in addition to the MAS. Change was limited on both instruments.