Validation of the Wii Balance Board to assess static balance during dual-task activity in healthy subjects

The influence of cognitive load on static balance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients

“…Moreover, cognitive function in COPD was not equally affected by the pathology:the fluency abilities (Words) were statistically significantly decreased, but the mathematical abilities (Numbers) were not. Our results are in agreement with previous studies showing that postural control is negatively influenced by vision, 25 calculation tasks, 26 verbal fluency tasks, 23 and the pathology. 8,9 Interestingly, there was no significant interaction among those parameters and no interactions among the different conditions tested.…”

“…The WBB is a reliable and valid tool for assessing standing balance 22 ; we have previously validated the WBB for assessing modifications to the static balance induced by various cognitive loads in healthy subjects. 23 Postural control was assessed with eyes open and with eyes closed, during a quiet period of 60 seconds ("Control") and during two different cognitive tasks: a calculation task ("Numbers"), during which the subjects had to count back in threes, starting from a number randomly selected between 120 and 130; and a verbal fluency task ("Words"), during which the participants had to name as many animals as possible. 24 The order of the six trials was randomly determined.…”

“…Participants were asked to stand on the middle of a Wii Balance Board (WBB) (45 × 26.5 cm) as quiet as possible with arms relaxed along the body and without moving their feet during the protocol, with focus fixed on a target located on the wall at a distance of two meters. The WBB is a reliable and valid tool for assessing standing balance 22 ; we have previously validated the WBB for assessing modifications to the static balance induced by various cognitive loads in healthy subjects 23 …”

“…Based on preliminary results, 23 in order to detect a difference of 10% of the DOT 3 between patients and controls with 80% power and a two‐sided type I error of 5%, we calculated that we needed to include 20 patients.…”

Effects of treadmill slip and trip perturbation-based balance training on falls in community-dwelling older adults (STABILITY): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

“…Gait speed will be used for further analysis. Balance will be assessed on a Wii Balance Board (WBB) using the FysioMeter software (FysioMeter, V.1.2.1.4, Denmark) 59 60. Prior research has shown that WBB provides valid and reliable assessments of the centre of pressure displacements in older adults 61.…”