Normative Performance on the Balance Error Scoring System by Youth, High School, and Collegiate Athletes

Abstract

Context:  Annually, more than 1 million youth athletes in the United States receive or are suspected of receiving a concussion. The Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) is the most commonly used clinical balance evaluation designed to provide a better understanding of the motor-control processes of individuals with concussion. Despite the widespread use of the BESS, a fundamental gap exists in applying this tool to young athletes, as normative values are lacking for this population. Objective:  To determine age- and sex-specific normative values for the BESS in youth, high school, and collegiate athletes. Design:  Cross-sectional study. Setting:  Local youth sport organizations, high schools, and colleges. Patients or Other Participants:  Student-athletes (N = 6762) completed preseason baseline concussion testing as part of a comprehensive concussion-management program. Groups were youth males aged 5 to 13 years (n = 360), high school males aged 14 to 18 years (n = 3743), collegiate males aged 19 to 23 years (n = 497), youth females aged 5 to 13 years (n = 246), high school females aged 14 to 18 years (n = 1673), and collegiate females aged 19 to 23 years (n = 243). Main Outcome Measure(s):  Errors according to the BESS specifications. Results:  Performance on the BESS was worse (P < .01) in youth athletes than in high school and collegiate athletes. In the youth and high school cohorts, females exhibited better scores than males (P < .05). Sex was not a factor for collegiate athletes. Data from the youth cohort were further subdivided into 4-year bins to evaluate potential motor-development differences. The error count was highest for 5- to 9-year-old males and decreased with age. Conclusions:  Performance on the BESS depended on sex and age, particularly in youth athletes. These sex- and age-specific normative values provide a reference to facilitate and unify clinical decision making across multiple providers caring for youth athletes with concussions.