NCS Balance and Gait Rehabilitation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Below which Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score is a community-dwelling older adult considered at increased fall risk?
- Below 56
- Below 45 (Correct answer)
- Below 20
- Below 30
Correct answer: Below 45
A BBS score below 45 out of 56 is the widely accepted threshold indicating increased fall risk in community-dwelling older adults.
Question 2: A Timed Up and Go (TUG) result greater than which value is most commonly used to identify fall risk in older adults?
- 8 seconds
- 12 seconds (Correct answer)
- 20 seconds
- 30 seconds
Correct answer: 12 seconds
A TUG time exceeding 12 seconds in older adults is the most commonly cited threshold associated with increased fall risk.
Question 3: On the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), a score below which value indicates increased fall risk?
- Below 10 out of 24
- Below 24 out of 24
- Below 19 out of 24 (Correct answer)
- Below 16 out of 24
Correct answer: Below 19 out of 24
A DGI score below 19 out of 24 (8 tasks scored 0–3 each) is associated with elevated fall risk in older adults.
Question 4: Which outcome measure best quantifies a patient's self-reported confidence in performing 16 daily activities without losing balance?
- Functional Reach Test
- Berg Balance Scale
- Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale (Correct answer)
- Timed Up and Go
Correct answer: Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale
The ABC Scale is a 16-item self-report questionnaire rating confidence (0–100%) for specific daily activities without falling.
Question 5: A patient maintains balance with eyes open but sways and falls with eyes closed during the Romberg test. This positive Romberg sign most strongly implicates which system?
- Visual system
- Vestibular system
- Somatosensory/proprioceptive system (Correct answer)
- Cerebellar coordination
Correct answer: Somatosensory/proprioceptive system
A positive Romberg sign indicates somatosensory/proprioceptive dysfunction, where the patient was using vision to compensate for impaired proprioceptive input.
Question 6: The Sensory Organization Test (SOT) of computerized dynamic posturography evaluates the integration of which three sensory systems?
- Visual, auditory, and proprioceptive
- Visual, vestibular, and somatosensory (Correct answer)
- Auditory, vestibular, and visual
- Proprioceptive, auditory, and vestibular
Correct answer: Visual, vestibular, and somatosensory
The SOT systematically manipulates visual, vestibular, and somatosensory inputs across 6 conditions to quantify each system's contribution to postural control.
Question 7: On the Sensory Organization Test (SOT), conditions 5 and 6 specifically isolate vestibular function because they:
- Provide enhanced visual feedback while removing somatosensory input
- Disrupt both visual and somatosensory inputs simultaneously, leaving only vestibular information (Correct answer)
- Apply electrical stimulation to the vestibular nerve
- Test walking on an unstable surface with eyes open
Correct answer: Disrupt both visual and somatosensory inputs simultaneously, leaving only vestibular information
SOT conditions 5 and 6 use a sway-referenced platform (disrupting somatosensory cues) combined with eyes closed or sway-referenced vision (disrupting visual cues), so only vestibular input remains reliable.
NCS Balance and Gait Rehabilitation 2
Below which Berg Balance Scale (BBS) score is a community-dwelling older adult considered at increased fall risk?