Training balance with opto-kinetic stimuli in the home: a randomized controlled feasibility study in people with pure
Lisa M Bunn1, Jonathan F Marsden2, Paola Giunti3
1Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK School of Health Professions, Peninsula Allied Health Centre, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK bunn_lisa@hotmail.com.
Objective:
To investigate the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial of a home-based balance intervention for people with cerebellar ataxia.
Design:
A randomized controlled trial design.
Setting:
Intervention and assessment took place in the home environment.
Participants:
A total of 12 people with spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 were randomized into a therapy or control group. Both groups received identical assessments at baseline, four and eight weeks.
Interventions:
Therapy group participants undertook balance exercises in front of optokinetic stimuli during weeks 4-8, while control group participants received no intervention.
Main Measures:
Test-retest reliability was analysed from outcome measures collected twice at baseline and four weeks later. Feasibility issues were evaluated using daily diaries and end trial exit interviews.
Results:
The home-based training intervention with opto-kinetic stimuli was feasible for people with pure ataxia, with one drop-out. Test-retest reliability is strong (intraclass correlation coefficient >0.7) for selected outcome measures evaluating balance at impairment and activity levels. Some measures reveal trends towards improvement for those in the therapy group. Sample size estimations indicate that Bal-SARA scores could detect a clinically significant change of 0.8 points in this functional balance score if 80 people per group were analysed in future trials.
Conclusions:
Home-based targeted training of functional balance for people with pure cerebellar ataxia is feasible and the outcome measures employed are reliable.
More Related Videos
07:24Using Eye-tracking to Assess the Relative Importance of Visual and Vestibular Input to Subcortical Motion Processing in the Roll Plane
Published on: August 22, 2025
05:02Using Unidirectional Rotations to Improve Vestibular System Asymmetry in Patients with Vestibular Dysfunction
Published on: August 30, 2019