Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Research Articles

Evaluation of Hemiplegic Gait Based on Plantar Pressure and Inertial Sensors

Gait quantitative evaluation plays an important role in indicating gait ability, comparing the effects of different rehabilitation programs, and indicating rehabilitation plans. However, traditional gait quantitative evaluation methods are mostly based on a variety of gait subscales and rely on doctors’ evaluations. Moreover, patients need to cooperate to complete a variety of movements, which is highly complex. To achieve objective gait assessment and reduce the difficulty of gait assessment and the dependence on doctors, we attempted to use inertial measurement units (IMUs) and plantar pressure insole sensors for gait quantitative assessment. We collected information on various joint angles and plantar pressure insole of stroke patients and healthy people during walking and scored the patients with the Mini Balance Evaluation System (Mini-BES) Test. Then, based on the collected data, we performed gait division and feature extraction and used the random forest to obtain the feature importance. Finally, we used the importance-weighted Euclidean distance to characterize the walking ability and compared it with the Mini-BES test score. The experimental results demonstrate that the wearable device has good accuracy for gait assessment, and the collected data has good repeatability. The linear correlation between the extracted distance score and the Mini-BES test score is -0.94. Thus, it is feasible to use wearable devices to evaluate lower limb rehabilitation through a walking test, which could potentially replace the complex Mini-BES test.

Multiple N-of-1 trials to investigate hypoxia therapy in Parkinson’s disease: study rationale and protocol

BackgroundParkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease, for which no disease-modifying therapies exist. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggest that hypoxia-based therapy might have short- and long-term benefits in PD. We present the contours of the first study to assess the safety, feasibility and physiological and symptomatic impact of hypoxia-based therapy in individuals with PD.Methods/DesignIn 20 individuals with PD, we will investigate the safety, tolerability and short-term symptomatic efficacy of continuous and intermittent hypoxia using individual, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled N-of-1 trials. This design allows for dose finding and for including more individualized outcomes, as each individual serves as its own control. A wide range of exploratory outcomes is deployed, including the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating scale (MDS-UPDRS) part III, Timed Up & Go Test, Mini Balance Evaluation Systems (MiniBES) test and wrist accelerometry. Also, self-reported impression of overall symptoms, motor and non-motor symptoms and urge to take dopaminergic medication will be assessed on a 10-point Likert scale. As part of a hypothesis-generating part of the study, we also deploy several exploratory outcomes to probe possible underlying mechanisms of action, including cortisol, erythropoietin and platelet-derived growth factor β. Efficacy will be assessed primarily by a Bayesian analysis.DiscussionThis evaluation of hypoxia therapy could provide insight in novel pathways that may be pursued for PD treatment. This trial also serves as a proof of concept for deploying an N-of-1 design and for including individualized outcomes in PD research, as a basis for personalized treatment approaches.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05214287 (registered January 28, 2022).

Efficacy of chest expansion resistance exercise on respiratory function, trunk control and dynamic balance in patients with chronic stroke: A Comparative study.

BackgroundMotor impairments caused by stroke result in impaired diaphragmatic and respiratory muscle function, changes in thoracic biomechanics on the hemiparetic side ultimately resulting in decreased efficiency of lung ventilation. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of chest expansion resistance exercise (CERE) on respiratory function, trunk control ability, and balance in patients with chronic stoke. Following a purposive sampling, thirty-five patients with chronic stroke were randomly allocated into two groups, i.e., the experimental group receiving CERE with conventional therapy and the control group receiving conventional therapy alone. Both the groups received therapy four times per week for a period of four weeks (total 16 sessions). Following assessments were done before and after treatment in both the groups: chest expansion ( axillary, nipple, xiphisternal levels) using measure tape, respiratory muscle strength using micro-respiratory pressure meter, trunk control using the Trunk Impairment Scale, and balance using mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test.ResultsBoth groups had 17 participants each (n = 34, drop-outs = 1) consisting of 12 males and 5 females having a mean age of 56.5 ± 12.98 years and 59.7 ± 10.2 years, respectively. Intra-group analysis showed a statistically significant increase in mean values of chest expansion, respiratory muscle strength, trunk control ability, and balance in the experimental group whereas the control group showed improvement only in trunk control ability and balance. Inter-group comparison revealed a better improvement in all the outcome variables in experimental group compared to the control group.ConclusionsBased on these results, this study proved that CERE was more effective in improving respiratory function, trunk control, and balance in patients with chronic stroke.

Effects of an Individualized Comprehensive Rehabilitation Program on Impaired Postural Control in Women With Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ObjectiveTo assess the effectiveness of an individualized comprehensive rehabilitation program (ICPR) on impaired postural control, pain, self-perceived health status, and functionality in women with chronic pelvic pain. DesignRandomized controlled trial. SettingWomen with chronic pelvic pain were recruited from the Gynecology Department of the University Hospital San Cecilio in Granada, Spain. ParticipantsParticipants (N=38) who were randomly divided into 2 groups. InterventionsThe intervention group received an 8-week ICRP, and the control group received a leaflet with ergonomic information. Main Outcome MeasuresThe main outcomes included were postural control (Mini Balance Evaluation Systems [Mini BESTest] and timed Up and Go [TUG]), pain (Brief Pain Inventory), self-perceived health status (EuroQol 5 dimensions [EQ-5D]), and functionality (Oswestry Disability Index [ODI]). ResultsSignificant differences were found between groups in the Mini BESTest and TUG scores with large effect sizes. The Brief Pain Inventory, EQ-5D, and ODI also presented significant differences in the between-groups analysis, with better scores in the intervention group after treatment. In the follow-up analysis, significant differences were found between groups in the Mini BESTest (P<.001), the cognitive TUG subscale (P=.032), interference of pain (P<.001), anxiety and depression (P=.001), and visual analog scale EQ-5D (P=.026) subscales, as well as the ODI (P<.001). ConclusionsOur results show significant improvements on postural control, pain, self-perceived health status, and functionality in women with chronic pelvic pain who received an 8-week ICRP.

AVALIAÇÃO DO EQUILÍBRIO DE MULHERES COM CÂNCER DE MAMA

The objective of this study was to verify the balance of women with breast cancer. This cross-sectional study, tested balance of 15women, eight women with cancer and seven without cancer. The evaluation was performed through the Mini Balance Evaluation Systems (MiniBESTest), TUG with simple and dual-task. The mean of age was 59.2 ± 5 years for cancer group and 60.2 ± 5 years for thecontrol group. Student's t-test for independent samples showed that there was no statistical differencebetween the groups for: MiniBESTest score, TUG with simple and dual-task. Women with cancer did not present balance impairments compared to control group according to MiniBESTest, and TUG with simple and dual-task.

Measuring balance confidence after spinal cord injury: the reliability and validity of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale

Context/Objective: The study objectives were to evaluate the test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminative validity of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). Design: Prospective, cross-sectional study. Setting: Laboratory. Participants: Twenty-six community-dwelling individuals with chronic iSCI (20 males, 59.7 + 18.9 years old) and 26 age- and sex-matched able-bodied (AB) individuals participated. Interventions: None. Outcome Measures: Measures of balance and gait were collected over two days. Clinical measures included the ABC scale, Mini-Balance Evaluation System’s Test, 10-meter Walk Test, SCI Functional Ambulation Profile, manual muscle testing of lower extremity muscles, and measures of lower extremity proprioception and cutaneous pressure sensitivity. Biomechanical measures included the velocity and sway area of centre of pressure (COP) movement during quiet standing. Results: The ABC scale demonstrated high test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.93) among participants with iSCI. The minimal detectable change was 14.87%. ABC scale scores correlated with performance on all clinical measures (ρ=0.60-0.80, P<0.01), with the exception of proprioception and cutaneous pressure sensitivity (P=0.20–0.70), demonstrating convergent validity. ABC scale scores also correlated with overall COP velocity (ρ=-0.69, P<0.001) and COP velocity in the anterior-posterior direction (ρ=-0.71, P<0.001). Participants with iSCI scored significantly lower on the ABC scale than the AB participants (P<0.001), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.95, demonstrating discriminative validity. Conclusion: The ABC scale is a reliable and valid measure of balance confidence in community-dwelling, ambulatory individuals with chronic iSCI.