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. 2024 May 6;10(9):e30665.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30665. eCollection 2024 May 15.

An integrated approach to the assessment of balance and functional mobility in individuals with history of severe traumatic brain injury

Federico Arippa  1   2 , Massimiliano Pau  1 , Rosa Marcello  3 , Laura Atzeni  3 , Salvatore Simone Vullo  3 , Marco Monticone  4
Affiliations

An integrated approach to the assessment of balance and functional mobility in individuals with history of severe traumatic brain injury

Federico Arippa et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Individuals who experienced severe Traumatic Brain Injury (sTBI) are often characterized by relevant motor dysfunctions which are likely to negatively affect activities of daily living and quality of life and often persist for years. However, detailed objective information about their magnitude are scarce. The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the extent of motor deficits in terms of postural control effectiveness under static and dynamic conditions and to investigate the existence of possible correlations between the results of clinical tests and instrumental measures. Postural sway and functional mobility (i.e., instrumented Timed Up and Go test, iTUG) were objectively measured in 18 individuals with sTBI and 18 healthy controls using a pressure plate and a wearable inertial sensor. Additionally, participants with history of sTBI completed the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI). One-way ANOVA and Spearman's rank correlation analysis were employed to examine differences between the two groups and determine potential correlations between the instrumental tests and clinical scales. The results show that people with sTBI were characterized by larger sway area and longer iTUG walking sub-phase. Significant correlations were also detected between RMI scores and iTUG total duration, as well as the walking phase. Taken together, these findings suggest that, even years after the initial injury, individuals with sTBI appear characterized by impaired postural control and functional mobility, which appears correlated with the RMI score. The integration of instrumental measures with clinical scales in the routine assessment and treatment of individuals with sTBI would result in more comprehensive, objective, and sensitive evaluations, thus improving precision in treatment planning, enabling ongoing progress monitoring, and highlighting the presence of motor deficits even years after the initial injury. Such integration is of importance for enhancing the long-term quality of life for individuals with sTBI.

Keywords: Functional mobility; Postural control; Postural sway; Rivermead mobility index; Timed-up-and-go; Traumatic brain injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Federico Arippa reports financial support was partially provided by Sardegna Ricerche, I FAIR Program, and by the 10.13039/501100009873Regione Autonoma della Sardegna. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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