Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board

Purpose Falls among older adults, affecting one-third of those aged 65 and above, pose a critical global health concern. This study focuses on using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NWBB) to measure the centre of pressure (CoP) sway length, aiming to identify and validate fall risk in older individua...

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Main Authors: Weerasak Tapanya, Noppharath Sangkarit, Puttipong Poncumhak, Saisunee Konsanit
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Termedia Publishing House 2025-03-01
Series:Human Movement
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hummov.awf.wroc.pl/Evaluating-fall-risk-in-community-dwelling-older-adults-through-balance-assessment,200086,0,2.html
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author Weerasak Tapanya
Noppharath Sangkarit
Puttipong Poncumhak
Saisunee Konsanit
author_facet Weerasak Tapanya
Noppharath Sangkarit
Puttipong Poncumhak
Saisunee Konsanit
author_sort Weerasak Tapanya
collection DOAJ
description Purpose Falls among older adults, affecting one-third of those aged 65 and above, pose a critical global health concern. This study focuses on using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NWBB) to measure the centre of pressure (CoP) sway length, aiming to identify and validate fall risk in older individuals. Methods Utilising a cross-sectional study design, sixty older adult females aged 65 and above (mean age: 71.03 ± 5.58 years) were classified into fall and non-fall groups based on whether they had experienced one or more fall events in the last six months. Comprehensive CoP sway measurements were conducted on the NWBB using various conditions. Results Results indicated significant differences in CoP sway variables, particularly in conditions with eyes open/closed on a soft surface (EO/SS and EC/SS) in both anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directions ( p < 0.001). A strong positive correlation was found between the time to complete five-time sit-to-stand (Tsit to stand) tests and CoP sway length in EC/ SS conditions for AP ( r = 0.761, p < 0.001) and ML directions ( r = 0.729, p 3.89 cm) with 90.0% sensitivity and 80.0% specificity using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Conclusions The NWBB effectively detects variations in CoP sway during quiet standing on a soft surface, proving valuable for identifying older adults at risk of falling. This research enhances fall risk assessment insights, emphasising the NWBB’s practicality as a tool for pinpointing older individuals susceptible to falls.
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spelling doaj-art-072e7ca2b5fc4d6c8e823c43a6cdfb472025-08-20T03:49:27ZengTermedia Publishing HouseHuman Movement1899-19552025-03-0126116117110.5114/hm/200086200086Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance BoardWeerasak Tapanya0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7080-5213Noppharath Sangkarit1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4622-5638Puttipong Poncumhak2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7788-7151Saisunee Konsanit3https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4934-2306Department of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao, ThailandDepartment of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao, ThailandDepartment of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao, ThailandDepartment of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao, ThailandPurpose Falls among older adults, affecting one-third of those aged 65 and above, pose a critical global health concern. This study focuses on using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NWBB) to measure the centre of pressure (CoP) sway length, aiming to identify and validate fall risk in older individuals. Methods Utilising a cross-sectional study design, sixty older adult females aged 65 and above (mean age: 71.03 ± 5.58 years) were classified into fall and non-fall groups based on whether they had experienced one or more fall events in the last six months. Comprehensive CoP sway measurements were conducted on the NWBB using various conditions. Results Results indicated significant differences in CoP sway variables, particularly in conditions with eyes open/closed on a soft surface (EO/SS and EC/SS) in both anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) directions ( p < 0.001). A strong positive correlation was found between the time to complete five-time sit-to-stand (Tsit to stand) tests and CoP sway length in EC/ SS conditions for AP ( r = 0.761, p < 0.001) and ML directions ( r = 0.729, p 3.89 cm) with 90.0% sensitivity and 80.0% specificity using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Conclusions The NWBB effectively detects variations in CoP sway during quiet standing on a soft surface, proving valuable for identifying older adults at risk of falling. This research enhances fall risk assessment insights, emphasising the NWBB’s practicality as a tool for pinpointing older individuals susceptible to falls.https://hummov.awf.wroc.pl/Evaluating-fall-risk-in-community-dwelling-older-adults-through-balance-assessment,200086,0,2.htmlageingbalancea centre of pressurerisk of fallgame console device
spellingShingle Weerasak Tapanya
Noppharath Sangkarit
Puttipong Poncumhak
Saisunee Konsanit
Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board
Human Movement
ageing
balance
a centre of pressure
risk of fall
game console device
title Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board
title_full Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board
title_fullStr Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board
title_short Evaluating fall risk in community-dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board
title_sort evaluating fall risk in community dwelling older adults through balance assessment with the nintendo wii balance board
topic ageing
balance
a centre of pressure
risk of fall
game console device
url https://hummov.awf.wroc.pl/Evaluating-fall-risk-in-community-dwelling-older-adults-through-balance-assessment,200086,0,2.html
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