The obstacle course: a tool for the assessment of functional balance and mobility in the elderly

Many conventional methods employed in the assessment of balance and mobility in the elderly are expensive, difficult to administer, rely heavily on complex technology, or provide limited functional information so essential to the planning and implementation of rehabilitation interventions. The author has developed a functionally oriented obstacle course for use in the rehabilitation setting, to aid in the evaluation of elderly subjects with balance and mobility dysfunction. The obstacle course consists of 12 simulated functional tasks. Qualitative and quantitative individual task and overall scores are given for each obstacle course performance. A description of the design and rationale for the obstacle course is presented. For demonstration purposes, nonexperimental obstacle course performance data from a small group of elderly volunteers is included. With further validation studies, the obstacle course has potential to become a useful tool in the evaluation and rehabilitation of balance and mobility disorders, in order to aid in the prevention of falls and fall-related injuries in the elderly.