Outcome measures and interventions of a balance training program

Background and Purpose: Falls are currently considered a public health concern due to their increasing prevalence in the aging population (1). The purpose of this case study is to examine and discuss outcome measures and interventions for a patient being treated in an outpatient setting for balance deficits.
Case Description: The patient discussed in this article was attending outpatient physical therapy for balance training. A very complex medical history presented challenges in forming a concise prognosis. The interventions provided were all based on the six domains of balance. Outcomes: The patient showed improved scores in all outcome measures over the course of her treatments. Not only did she make improvements quantitatively in outcome measures, but her self-reported improvements showed a positive impact on her ability to safely perform daily tasks. Discussion: When balance training, it is important to take into consideration all the contributing factors of balance. The patients present medical conditions and vision impairments can both have a very negative impact on balance. The interventions provided to this patient yielded improvements in balance. Research has shown a strong correlation between proprioception and balance, leading to the conclusion that if you target improvement in proprioception, it will lead to an overall improvement in balance (2).