BALANCE BETWEEN MEASURES, BUT ON THE SLIDEBAR THERE IS TINETTI SCALE

Introduction

Balance is a term frequently used by health professionals working in a wide variety of clinical specialties. Nowadays there is not an universally definition of human balance. From a physic point of view, balance is the state of an object, when the resultant load actions (forces or moments) acting upon it are zero. If the line of gravity of an object falls within the base of support, then the object is balanced. This principle can be applicable to the balance of humans, in fact the human body is balanced when muscle forces counteract the force of gravity, and the line of gravity falls inside the base of support. Measuring static and dynamic balance means giving autonomy to the patient and it represents a good way to prevent falls.

Methods

To measure balance, we proposed the following scales to 45 patients, admitted to the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Polyclinic of Messina:

• Berg Balance Scale
• Time Up And Go Test (TUG)
• The 30-Second Chair Stand Test
• Tinetti Scale, it is used to measure balance ability, including fall risk and ambulation. It is composed by 16 items, divided into two different sections (balance and walking), that assess balance and walking performance through the observation of motor skills of great relevance in daily life. Each item is given a score ranging from 0 to 2, (0= inability, 1= ability with aid or adaptation, 2= full ability). The balance functions consists of 9 tests that examine static balance skills in different positions and the execution of position changes. The second section, on the other hand, assesses walking functions through gait characteristics such as symmetry, length, and stride continuity. The maximum score is 28

Results

Through the administration of these scales, we saw a significant improvement in patients’ balance and in the perception of their body

Discussion and Conclusion

Thanks to these scales, we noticed that balance needs to be assessed, measured, and warned. From the data collected, it emerged that, thanks to physiotherapy, patients are able to improve their balance, preventing falls and injuries. For the physiotherapist Tinetti scale is more appropriate because its items give value to the observational aspects of movement.

REFERENCES

Pollock AS, Durward BR, Rowe PJ, Paul JP. What is balance? Clin Rehabil. 2000 Aug;14(4):402-6. doi: 10.1191/0269215500cr342oa. PMID: 10945424.