Assessment of Postural Balance in Multiple Sclerosis

Compromised postural balance is a common manifestation of multiple sclerosis (MS). Effective quanti - tative methods of assessing postural imbalance are needed to help clinicians evaluate progression of this impairment. The primary objective of this study was to compare postural balance in MS patients and healthy controls using a standard screening tool, the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), as well as a more techni - cally sophisticated device, the NeuroCom SMART Balance Master (NeuroCom International, Inc, Clackamas, OR). The study participants consisted of 14 individuals diagnosed with MS and 10 healthy controls. Each participant was assessed with the BBS and also underwent six different balance tests using the NeuroCom, most comprising several subcomponent measures. Assessment with the BBS showed significantly more postural instability in the MS group than in the control group (P < .05). Test - ing with the NeuroCom showed significantly more postural instability in the MS group than in the con - trol group on two of the six tests (four specific balance measures) (P < .05). Moderate-to-high correla - tions (0.50-0.80) were found between the postural assessments using the standard BBS and the NeuroCom balance tests for the MS group. These results indicate that the BBS is an effective screening instrument for balance problems in people with MS. Int J MS Care. 2009;11:1 -5.