The stepping test, and infrared depth sensor, provide reliable measures of balance in community-dwelling older adults.
Soichi Okada, Nobuo Takeshima, Eiji Fujita and 3 others
PMID 38186969WHAT IT FOUND
A 20-second stepping test measured by a cheap motion sensor tracked balance well in 27 healthy older adults.
Poor balance showed up as fewer steps and more head sway. The test was reliable, but the group was small and all were fully independent.
Key findings
01The stepping test showed good reliability across repeated trials, with strong agreement for movement distance and step count.
02Participants with poorer dynamic balance took fewer steps and moved their heads farther per step during the test.
03The sway index from the stepping test correlated with static balance sway, distinguishing those with higher sway velocity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 27 participants, which is a small sample for establishing reliable norms or strong correlations. All participants were highly functional, independent, and had no history of falling, so the results may not apply to frailer or at-risk older adults. The study design was cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that the stepping test predicts future falls or decline over time. Gender differences in test performance were confounded by height, meaning the test may not be equally accurate for men and women without height correction.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing interests. The work was supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, which had no role in the study design or data collection.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this test is validated for patients with balance impairments or fall risk. The study only included healthy, independent older adults, so its ability to detect dysfunction in a clinical population is unknown.