Sitting And Standing Balance Assessment Tools In Patients With Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review

Background: The effectiveness of interventions depend on utility of a specific common set of clinical tools that has ability to assess important clinical outcomes. Objective: To identify clinical assessment tools for assessing unsupported sitting and standing balance in SCI population. Methods: PubMed access provided articles with key words “spinal cord injury,” and “balance assessment”. Studies describing measurement of balance in subjects with SCI, were included. Results: After thorough screening 9 articles showed : 3 clinical scales assessed sitting balance and seated postural control, 1 clinical scale assessed standing function, 4 scale assessed functional mobility, static and dynamic walking balance; one scale assessed risk of fall during walking and 3 sensor based tools were identified. Conclusion: It was observed that majority studies showed assessment of standing and walking balance; and both clinical performance based and sensor based tools were used for balance assessment. Key words: balance assessment, spinal cord injury.