Dynamic Balance Is Related to Physiological Impairments in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis.
Alexander T Peebles, Adam P Bruetsch, Sharon G Lynch and 1 others
PMID 29274726WHAT IT FOUND
People with MS who had recently fallen repeatedly had worse foot vibration sense, longer balance reaction delays, more spasticity, and higher pyramidal and cerebellar signs than non-fallers.
It does not show that treating these signs reduces falls.
Key findings
01Fallers had worse foot vibration threshold, longer sensorimotor delays, more spasticity, and higher pyramidal and cerebellar EDSS subscale scores than non-fallers.
02The stepwise model that best separated fallers from non-fallers used pyramidal and cerebellar EDSS subscales, and these together explained 22.4% of variance in fall status.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study measured associations at one time, so it cannot show that any impairment caused falls. Fall status came from self-reported falls in the previous six months, so recall error could affect group assignment. All walking was on a treadmill at self-selected speeds, and fallers and non-fallers did not walk at the same speeds, so results may not match over-ground walking. The regression model explained 22.4% of variance in fall status, so many contributors to falling were not identified. The supplied text does not include the correlation values from the tables, so the strength of relationships with dynamic balance cannot be checked.
Declared interests
No conflicts-of-interest declaration is included in the supplied text. The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that treating one impairment will reduce falls. The study only compared people who already fell with people who did not, and it did not test any treatment.