The Convergent Validity of the SWAY Balance Application to Assess Postural Stability in Military Cadets Recovering from Concussion
# Background Concussions are often accompanied by balance disturbances. Clinically accurate evaluation systems are often expensive, large, and inaccessible to most clinicians. The Sway Balance Mobile Application (SWAY) is an accessible method to quantify balance changes. # Purpose To determine th...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
North American Sports Medicine Institute
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.26603/001c.92234 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1825196995922362368 |
|---|---|
| author | Max K Dummar Michael S Crowell Will Pitt Ai Mei Yu Paige McHenry Timothy Benedict Jamie Morris Erin M Miller |
| author_facet | Max K Dummar Michael S Crowell Will Pitt Ai Mei Yu Paige McHenry Timothy Benedict Jamie Morris Erin M Miller |
| author_sort | Max K Dummar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | # Background
Concussions are often accompanied by balance disturbances. Clinically accurate evaluation systems are often expensive, large, and inaccessible to most clinicians. The Sway Balance Mobile Application (SWAY) is an accessible method to quantify balance changes.
# Purpose
To determine the known groups and convergent validity of the SWAY to assess balance after a concussion.
# Study Design
Case-Control Study.
# Methods
Twenty participants with acute concussion and twenty controls were recruited. At initial, one-week, and final return to activity (RTA) evaluations, all participants completed the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT-5), and balance control measured by SWAY mBESS and NeuroCom Balance Master Sensory Organization Test (SOT). Mixed model ANOVAs were used to detect differences in SWAY mBESS and NeuroCom SOT scores with time (initial, one-week, final RTA) as the within-subjects factor and group (concussed, healthy) as the between-subjects factor. Spearman's Rho correlations explored the associations between NeuroCom SOT scores, SWAY scores, SCAT-5 symptom scores, and time in days to final RTA.
# Results
The sampled population was predominantly male and age (20 ± 1), and BMI differences were insignificant between groups. The SWAY did not detect differences between healthy and concussed participants and did not detect change over time \[F(2,40) = .114, p = 0.89; F(2,40)= .276, p =0.60\]. When assessing the relationship between the SWAY and the SOT, no correlation was found at any time point (r = -0.317 to -0.062, p \> 0.05). Time to RTA demonstrated a moderate correlation with both SCAT-5 symptom severity score (r = .693, p \< 0.01) and SCAT-5 total symptom score (r = .611, p \< 0.01) at the one-week follow-up.
# Conclusion
The SWAY mBESS does not appear to be a valid balance assessment for the concussed patient. The SWAY mBESS in patients with concussion failed to demonstrate convergent validity and did not demonstrate an ability to validate known groups. When assessing the time to final RTA, the one-week post-initial assessment SCAT-5 symptom severity and total scores may help determine the length of recovery in this population.
# Level of Evidence
Level 3 |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1f799523851143f7a5aa57671258b2f2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2159-2896 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | North American Sports Medicine Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy |
| spelling | doaj-art-1f799523851143f7a5aa57671258b2f22025-02-11T20:28:14ZengNorth American Sports Medicine InstituteInternational Journal of Sports Physical Therapy2159-28962024-02-01192The Convergent Validity of the SWAY Balance Application to Assess Postural Stability in Military Cadets Recovering from ConcussionMax K DummarMichael S CrowellWill PittAi Mei YuPaige McHenryTimothy BenedictJamie MorrisErin M Miller# Background Concussions are often accompanied by balance disturbances. Clinically accurate evaluation systems are often expensive, large, and inaccessible to most clinicians. The Sway Balance Mobile Application (SWAY) is an accessible method to quantify balance changes. # Purpose To determine the known groups and convergent validity of the SWAY to assess balance after a concussion. # Study Design Case-Control Study. # Methods Twenty participants with acute concussion and twenty controls were recruited. At initial, one-week, and final return to activity (RTA) evaluations, all participants completed the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT-5), and balance control measured by SWAY mBESS and NeuroCom Balance Master Sensory Organization Test (SOT). Mixed model ANOVAs were used to detect differences in SWAY mBESS and NeuroCom SOT scores with time (initial, one-week, final RTA) as the within-subjects factor and group (concussed, healthy) as the between-subjects factor. Spearman's Rho correlations explored the associations between NeuroCom SOT scores, SWAY scores, SCAT-5 symptom scores, and time in days to final RTA. # Results The sampled population was predominantly male and age (20 ± 1), and BMI differences were insignificant between groups. The SWAY did not detect differences between healthy and concussed participants and did not detect change over time \[F(2,40) = .114, p = 0.89; F(2,40)= .276, p =0.60\]. When assessing the relationship between the SWAY and the SOT, no correlation was found at any time point (r = -0.317 to -0.062, p \> 0.05). Time to RTA demonstrated a moderate correlation with both SCAT-5 symptom severity score (r = .693, p \< 0.01) and SCAT-5 total symptom score (r = .611, p \< 0.01) at the one-week follow-up. # Conclusion The SWAY mBESS does not appear to be a valid balance assessment for the concussed patient. The SWAY mBESS in patients with concussion failed to demonstrate convergent validity and did not demonstrate an ability to validate known groups. When assessing the time to final RTA, the one-week post-initial assessment SCAT-5 symptom severity and total scores may help determine the length of recovery in this population. # Level of Evidence Level 3https://doi.org/10.26603/001c.92234 |
| spellingShingle | Max K Dummar Michael S Crowell Will Pitt Ai Mei Yu Paige McHenry Timothy Benedict Jamie Morris Erin M Miller The Convergent Validity of the SWAY Balance Application to Assess Postural Stability in Military Cadets Recovering from Concussion International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy |
| title | The Convergent Validity of the SWAY Balance Application to Assess Postural Stability in Military Cadets Recovering from Concussion |
| title_full | The Convergent Validity of the SWAY Balance Application to Assess Postural Stability in Military Cadets Recovering from Concussion |
| title_fullStr | The Convergent Validity of the SWAY Balance Application to Assess Postural Stability in Military Cadets Recovering from Concussion |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Convergent Validity of the SWAY Balance Application to Assess Postural Stability in Military Cadets Recovering from Concussion |
| title_short | The Convergent Validity of the SWAY Balance Application to Assess Postural Stability in Military Cadets Recovering from Concussion |
| title_sort | convergent validity of the sway balance application to assess postural stability in military cadets recovering from concussion |
| url | https://doi.org/10.26603/001c.92234 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maxkdummar theconvergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT michaelscrowell theconvergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT willpitt theconvergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT aimeiyu theconvergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT paigemchenry theconvergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT timothybenedict theconvergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT jamiemorris theconvergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT erinmmiller theconvergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT maxkdummar convergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT michaelscrowell convergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT willpitt convergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT aimeiyu convergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT paigemchenry convergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT timothybenedict convergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT jamiemorris convergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion AT erinmmiller convergentvalidityoftheswaybalanceapplicationtoassessposturalstabilityinmilitarycadetsrecoveringfromconcussion |