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Validity of the Star Excursion Balance Test as an assessment of the balance ability for community-dwelling elderly people

The purpose of this study was to consider the validity of measuring the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), which has been used as a measure of balance ability in athletes, for community-dwelling elderly people. To achieve this purpose, we examined the relationship between the existing balance ability measures, leg strength, and the SEBT. The subjects were 36 elderly people (mean age: 71.1 years). We used the SEBT, functional reach test (FRT), timed up-and-go test (TUG), and Mini-BESTest to evaluate balance ability and the 30-second chairstand test (CS-30) to assess leg strength; we also assessed the 10-m walk time. The correlation coefficient with the SEBT was calculated. The significant level was 5%. A significant positive correlation was observed between the total score of Mini-BESTest and the SEBT reach distance in the anterior direction (r = 0.364, p < 0.05) and the posteromedial direction (r = 0.407, p < 0.05). A significant positive correlation was observed between anticipatory postural control and the SEBT reach distance in the anterior directions (r = 0.403, p < 0.05), and postural responses and SEBT reach distance in the posterolateral direction (r = 0.360, p < 0.05), which were subsystem category of Mini-BESTest. No significant correlation was found in the other items. The correlation with Mini-BESTest indicates that SEBT might be a valid tool to evaluate the dynamic balance ability of community-dwelling elderly people. However, their correlation coefficient is not high, suggesting that SEBT can evaluate elements different from Mini-BESTest. Jpn J Phys Fitness Sports Med, 68(6): 389-396 (2019)