Using the Instrumented Sway System (ISway) to Identify and Compare Balance Domain Deficits in People With Multiple Sclerosis.

The study was cross-sectional, so it can show differences between groups but cannot show that sway amplitude and velocity caused falls or that changing balance training based on these domains will prevent falls. Fall history was self-reported for the previous 6 months, with no information about causes, so recall bias may affect the grouping. People with one fall and multiple falls were combined, which may hide differences between those groups. Neurotypical controls were not asked about fall history, so the fall comparison cannot rule out falls in controls. The MS group was limited to relapsing-remitting MS and a relatively mild disability range, so findings may not apply to progressive MS or more severe mobility limitation. Many individual sway comparisons were exploratory and not corrected for multiple comparisons, so some individual differences may be chance findings. The factor analysis was performed in the MS group, so the domain structure may be specific to this sample.

All authors declared no conflict of interest. The article metadata lists NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.

Do not conclude that ISway sway measures cause falls or can be used to predict falls in your patients. The study was cross-sectional, fall history was self-reported over 6 months, controls were not compared for fall history, and the authors warn that individual sway comparisons were not corrected for multiple comparisons.