OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of exercise training by using the Nintendo Wii Fit video game and balance board system on balance and gait in adults with Parkinson disease (PD). DESIGN A prospective interventional cohort study. SETTING An outpatient group exercise class. PARTICIPANTS Ten subjects with PD, Hoehn and Yahr stages 2.5 or 3, with a mean age of 67.1 years; 4 men, 6 women. INTE...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The fear of falling can have detrimental effects on physical function in the elderly population, but the relationship between a persons' confidence in the ability to maintain balance and actual balance ability and functional mobility is not known. The extent to which balance confidence can be explained by balance performance, functional mobility, and sociodemographic, psy...

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to compare the effects of Wii Fit balance training (WBT) and progressive balance training (PBT) approaches on balance functions, balance confidence, and activities of daily living in chronic stroke patients. [Subjects] A total of 30 patients were randomized into the WBT (n=15) and PBT (n=15) groups. [Methods] All of the subjects received exercise training bas...

BACKGROUND Balance confidence is an important indicator of functional mobility and independence in older adults. Preliminary psychometric evidence for the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale is promising, with a series of four studies adding information on the discriminative and evaluative properties of this tool. METHODS The original validation sample was reinterviewed one yea...

Balance confidence, measured using the Activity-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC-16), can affect quality of life in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Two abbreviated 6-item versions of the ABC-16 have been previously derived to measure balance confidence in an expedited fashion. This study aimed to validate these abbreviated versions and to determine their correlations with measu...