Assessing balance and gait Sample Clauses

Assessing balance and gait. People with vestibular disorders present with poorer postural stability and gait speed compared to controls and can be at increased falls risk (Xxxxxxx et al., 2000b; Xxxxxxx et al., 2009). Traditionally, the assessment starts with an evaluation of functional abilities to determine how well a person with CVD can perform a variety of static balance tasks such as sit to stand on chair, stand with open and closed eyes, stand and look over the shoulder or reach to different directions as well as dynamic balance skills such as walking and turning, walking and changing gait speed, and walking and stepping over an obstacle (Xxxxx, 1987; Xxxxx et al., 1997; Xxxxx and Xxxxx, 2003; Xxxxxxx et al., 2022). The person with CVD is observed for errors during gait and balance assessment. For example, people who are unsteady in their static balance with eyes closed may be observed opening their eyes to recover their balance (Xxxxx et al., 1997; Xxxxxxx et al., 2022). Some people with UVD may be veering to the side of the lesion whist walking while others may be walking with absence of arms sway, sidesteps or their feet wide apart to maintain stability (Xxxxx and Xxxxx, 2003; Xxxxxxx et al., 2022). Gait is observed for errors such as walking with reduced arm sway or deviation from the linear path as well as for abnormalities related to cerebellum such as hypotonic or ataxic gait (Xxxxx and Xxxxxx, 1994; Xxxxxxxx et al., 2014). Various objective measures have been used in clinical and research settings in people with CVD to assess their postural control and gait. Previous studies highly correlated the Timed Get Up and Go test (Xxxxxxx et al., 1986; Xxxx et al., 2021) and the Xxxx Balance Scale (BBS) (Xxxx et al., 1992; Xxxxxxx et al., 2003) with gait velocity, which has been described as a “gold standard” for assessing balance in people with vestibular disorders (Xxxxxxx et al., 1986). Xxxxxxx and colleagues (2003) showed that there was a 63% correlation between scores on the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and BBS in people with vestibular disorders indicating that the two tests measure some but not all, of the same balance aspects (Xxxxxxx et al., 2003). The DGI was reported as being more useful for identifying people at risk of falling (Xxxxxxxxx et al., 2008). Even though, the DGI should be used with caution in people with vestibular disorders as it has been shown to lack a strong reliability (Xxxxxxx et al., 2003). More recently the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest), a...