Postural Balance Assessment in Fallers Individuals with COPD Before and after Physical Effort

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) individuals have higher risk of falls; however, how to assess postural balance in fallers remains unclear.Aim: Evaluate the postural balance of fallers COPD individuals in several conditions. Methods: Individuals with moderate to very severe COPD were included. The postural balance was assessed through clinical (Mini BESTest) and laboratory tests (Force Platform). The force platform9s center of pressure (CoP) was evaluated in a 9neutral position9 and 9semi-tandem9 at rest and after moderate physical exertion (4 to 6 on the modified Borg scale). Patients were then followed for six months by monthly phone calls and were separated into non-fallers (NF) and fallers (F) groups. The between-group was compared using Student9s-T or Mann-Whitney test. Results: Sixty individuals were divided into NF (n=38) and F (n=22) groups, and there was no between-group difference in age (66±7 vs. 67±6years) and lung function (46±14 vs. 43±15 FEV1% pred), respectively(p>0.05). At rest and in the 9neutral position9, no difference was observed between-group; however, the F group showed increased mediolateral CoP displacement (3.3±0.8 vs. 2.8±0.9 cm) at 9semi-tandem’ compared with the NF group; p<0.05. After physical effort, again no between-group difference was observed at the 9neutral position9. However, the F group showed increased mediolateral (3.4±0.8 vs. 2.7±0.9cm) and anteroposterior CoP (3.1±1.4 vs. 2.3±0.8cm) displacements than NF group at semi-tandem;p<0.05. There was no between-group difference in clinical test. Conclusion: Our results show that assessing postural balance in a semi-tandem position after exercise better discriminates COPD fallers.