Reliability of the modified figure of eight--a balance performance test for elderly women

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Abstract
Balance capacity can be measured in various ways depending on population and purposes. The objectives of this study were to investigate the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the Modified Figure of Eight (MFE) and compare the results with those from four other balance performance tests. Thirty community-dwelling women, mean age 76.5 years, in the age range 70-85, performed MFE, one-legged stance (OLS), tandem stance, standing on foam, and walking speed tests and repeated the tests one week later. A questionnaire on background factors was filled in. There was very high inter-rater reliability; intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) ranged from 0.94-1.00 for all the tests. Very high test-retest reliability was found for MFE-time (ICC=0.93), while oversteps had a lower value (ICC=0.73). MFE-time significantly correlated to walking speed (r S = m 0.37 m ( m )0.52), while oversteps significantly correlated to walking speed (r S = m 0.50 m ( m )0.57) and OLS (r S = m 0.51 m ( m )0.55). The other tests were significantly inter-correlated, a finding similar to those from many other studies. The MFE was highly reliable, showed satisfactory concurrent validity, and can be recommended for use by different examiners and over time.

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