Devices and tasks involved in the objective assessment of standing dynamic balancing – A systematic literature review

BACKGROUND Static balancing assessment is often complemented with dynamic balancing tasks. Numerous dynamic balancing assessment methods have been developed in recent decades with their corresponding balancing devices and tasks. OBJECTIVE The aim of this systematic literature review is to identify and categorize existing objective methods of standing dynamic balancing ability assessment with an emphasis on the balancing devices and tasks being used. DATA SOURCES Three major scientific literature databases (Science Direct, Web of Science, PLoS ONE) and additional sources were used. STUDY SELECTION Studies had to use a dynamic balancing device and a task described in detail. Evaluation had to be based on objectively measureable parameters. Functional tests without instrumentation evaluated exclusively by a clinician were excluded. A total of 63 articles were included. DATA EXTRACTION The data extracted during full-text assessment were: author and date; the balancing device with the balancing task and the measured parameters; the health conditions, size, age and sex of participant groups; and follow-up measurements. DATA SYNTHESIS A variety of dynamic balancing assessment devices were identified and categorized as 1) Solid ground, 2) Balance board, 3) Rotating platform, 4) Horizontal translational platform, 5) Treadmill, 6) Computerized Dynamic Posturography, and 7) Other devices. The group discrimination ability of the methods was explored and the conclusions of the studies were briefly summarized. LIMITATIONS Due to the wide scope of this search, it provides an overview of balancing devices and do not represent the state-of-the-art of any single method. CONCLUSIONS The identified dynamic balancing assessment methods are offered as a catalogue of candidate methods to complement static assessments used in studies involving postural control.