Citation

Oguz S, Demırbüken İ, Kavlak B, Acar G, Yurdalan SU, Polat MG. Top. Stroke Rehabil. 2017; 24(7): 527-532.

Affiliation

a Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation , Marmara University , Istanbul , Turkey.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10749357.2017.1322251

PMID

28472895

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to investigate the relationship between objective balance, fear of falling, and perceived sense of balance (PSB) in stroke patients.

METHODS: Seventy patients aged 18-65 years with chronically developed hemiplegia or hemiparesis were enrolled in the study. Patients' objective balance scores, fear of falling, and PSB were obtained using the berg balance scale (BBS), the falls efficacy scale (FES), and a visual analog scale, respectively. The Standard Mini-Mental Examination was performed to exclude patients with mental disorders from the study.

RESULTS: There was a moderate negative correlation between PSB and BBS scores (p = 0.001, ρ = -0.588); a strong negative correlation between BBS and FES scores (p = 0.001, ρ = -0.808); and a strong positive correlation between PSB and FES scores (p = 0.001, ρ = 0.714). We found that BBS scores had negative correlation with PBS scores in left hemiplegic patients while there was no any relationship between BBS and PBS scores in right hemiplegic patients.

CONCLUSION: PSB assessment, besides the BBS, should be considered among the routine assessment methods that enable the rehabilitation team to be aware of patients' balance capacities.

Language: en

Keywords

Stroke; berg balance scale; fear of falling; perceived sense of balance