Reliability and validity of quantitative evaluation of anticipatory postural adjustments using smartphones

Abstract

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the quantitative evaluation of anticipatory postural adjustments using smartphones. [Participants and Methods] The study included 10 young control participants who underwent a one-legged stance with an accelerometer and a smartphone that were simultaneously attached to their lower back (L5). Acceleration was measured as the mediolateral component of the lumbar movement toward the stance side. The peak value of the time (peak latency) and the amount of displacement (peak magnitude) in the stance side direction of the lumbar acceleration were analyzed as anticipatory postural adjustment features. Intra-rater reliability was calculated for both accelerometer and smartphone measurements, while inter-rater reliability was calculated for smartphone measurements by two examiners. Validity was determined for both accelerometer and smartphone measurements. [Results] In this study, the intra-rater reliability of the peak latency and peak magnitude in accelerometer and smartphone measurements was confirmed, as was the inter-rater reliability in smartphone measurements. The intra-rater reliability was confirmed through re-testing, while the validity of the accelerometer and smartphone measurements was also confirmed. [Conclusion] The findings of this study suggest that the use of smartphones to measure anticipatory postural adjustments is highly reliable and valid, making it a useful clinical balance index. The method is simple and can be used for continuous patient monitoring.

Keywords: Postural control; Reliability and validity; Smartphone.

Fig. 1.

Experimental set-up. A signal in the left or right direction was displayed on the PC screen, indicating which leg should be raised.

Fig. 2.

Typical example of mediolateral acceleration in each group during one-leg stance (OLS) movement. (A) The displacement in the acceleration of a healthy control is shown. The arrows show the peak latency (PL) and peak magnitude (PM). ML: Mediolateral. (B) Correlation of peak latency (PL) and peak magnitude (PM) in accelerometer and smartphone measurement results.