Quantitative methods used to evaluate balance, postural control, and the fear of falling in lower limb prosthesis users: A systematic review

Abstract

Problems with balance, postural control, and fear of falling are highly prevalent in lower limb prosthesis users, with much research conducted to understand these issues. The variety of tools used to assess these concepts presents a challenge when interpreting research outcomes. This systematic review aimed to provide a synthesis of quantifiable methods used in the evaluation of balance, postural control, and fear of falling in lower limb prosthesis users with an amputation level at or proximal to the ankle joint. A systematic search was conducted in CINAHL, Medline, AMED, Cochrane, AgeLine, Scopus, Web of Science, Proquest, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, and PubPsych databases followed by additional manual searching via reference lists in the reviewed articles databases. Included articles used quantitative measure of balance or postural control as one of the dependent variables, lower limb prosthesis users as a sample group, and were published in a peer-reviewed journal in English. Relevant assessment questions were created by the investigators to rate the assessment methods used in the individual studies. Descriptive and summary statistics are used to synthesize the results. The search yielded (n = 187) articles assessing balance or postural control (n = 5487 persons in total) and (n = 66) articles assessing fear of falling or balance confidence (n = 7325 persons in total). The most used test to measure balance was the Berg Balance Scale and the most used test to measure fear of falling was the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale. A large number of studies did not present if the chosen methods were valid and reliable for the lower limb prosthesis users. Among study limitations, small sample size was common.