Measures of falls efficacy, balance confidence, or balance recovery confidence for perturbation-based balance training

Abstract

There is a growing interest in using perturbation-based balance training (PBT) to reduce falls. The efficacy of PBT has been largely attributed to improved physical ability to arrest falls, such as improved recovery step length and trunk velocity. While PBT is likely to influence psychological factors, the impact on this aspect remains unclear. Several studies have found a limited influence of PBT on falls efficacy or balance confidence. Given that falls is a complex phenomenon, the role of PBT on psychological factors needs to be elucidated adequately. Recently, falls efficacy has been proposed to encompass four domains: balance confidence, balance recovery confidence, safe-landing confidence, and post-fall recovery confidence, alongside the appropriate use of falls efficacy measures. This commentary aims to feature some falls efficacy-related measurement instruments so that researchers and clinicians can choose the most suitable measures for PBT.