Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the reproducibility of postural stability scores in blind athletes.
Design: Within-subject, repeated trials of postural stability.
Setting: Laboratory located at a physical medicine and rehabilitation center.
Participants: Eighteen congenitally blind goal-ball players.
Main outcome measures: Three postural stability indices: overall, anteroposterior and mediolateral was evaluated. Means of each day and of the best score of each day were calculated from the three test trials.
Results: No significant differences were determined between the mean score on each of the two days or between the mean score and the mean of the best score of each day. Intraclass coefficients (ICC) for the two testing days ranged from 0.59 to 0.83 based on the mean value, and from 0.40 to 0.86 based on the best value. The standard error of measurement (SEM) ranged between 0.4–1.1, which was equivalent to 18% of the stability index scores.
Conclusions: Based on both ICC and SEM results, findings derived from this postural balance test have acceptable reproducibility in the overall and anteroposterior indices but only fair reproducibility in the mediolateral index.