{"id":{"repo_id":"bournemouth","oai_identifier":"oai:eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk:31187"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/bournemouth/oai:eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk:31187","repository":{"repo_id":"bournemouth","name":"University of Bournemouth","base_url":"http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"Exploring limb symmetry index for balance across a range of functional tasks.","abstract":"Introduction: Body symmetry and functional reciprocity represent key components of normal movement (Lu & Chang 2012, Sadeghi et al 2000, Watkins 1999) making them essential components of clinical examination. To this end a limb symmetry index (LSI) of 80 – 90% of the unaffected limb has been proposed by previous authors (Daniel et al 1982, Barber et al 1990, Sapega 1990, Petschnig et al 1998). Whilst LSI has been reviewed for a large variety of potential variables, the LSI for balance remains largely unexplored. Balance is viewed as an integral part of maintaining everyday physical activity, a good quality of life and reducing health burden (Clark et al 2016). Therefore, this study aimed to determine the LSI for balance across a variety of functional tasks; whilst reviewing the use of novel yet clinically reproducible methodology. Method: A cross-sectional observational design was used. Seventeen participants (mean age 27.6±5.7 years) were recruited from the student population at Bournemouth University. Participants reported no existing injury or other balance affecting condition. Balance was measured using two devices: an instrumented wobbleboard (SMARTwobble, THETAmetrix, UK) and a sacral mounted accelerometer (Balance Sensor, THETAmetrix, UK). Participants completed a variety of tasks including forward, lateral and medial hop landing where sacral acceleration was measured for 1 second following landing. Task analysis was completed using SPSS v23, MatLab and Excel. Results: No statistically significant differences occurred between dominant and non-dominant limb for any of the assessed tasks. The absolute mean percentage difference between limbs was 4.9%±3.7% (95% CI 1.8% - 8.0%). ICC values ranged from 0.73 – 0.96 suggesting moderate to excellent test-retest reliability for accelerometry and wobbleboard. Discussion: The LSI for balance should be expected to be around 5% regardless of task. Sacral mounted accelerometry, represents a valid and reliable measurement device, for a variety of complex balance assessment tasks including hop landing. Instrumented wobbleboards may also provide a valid and reliable, clinically accessible method for measuring limb symmetry, but may not be appropriate for evaluating a variety of tasks.","abstract_html":"Introduction: Body symmetry and functional reciprocity represent key components of normal movement (Lu & Chang 2012, Sadeghi et al 2000, Watkins 1999) making them essential components of clinical examination. To this end a limb symmetry index (LSI) of 80 – 90% of the unaffected limb has been proposed by previous authors (Daniel et al 1982, Barber et al 1990, Sapega 1990, Petschnig et al 1998). Whilst LSI has been reviewed for a large variety of potential variables, the LSI for balance remains largely unexplored. Balance is viewed as an integral part of maintaining everyday physical activity, a good quality of life and reducing health burden (Clark et al 2016). Therefore, this study aimed to determine the LSI for balance across a variety of functional tasks; whilst reviewing the use of novel yet clinically reproducible methodology. Method: A cross-sectional observational design was used. Seventeen participants (mean age 27.6±5.7 years) were recruited from the student population at Bournemouth University. Participants reported no existing injury or other balance affecting condition. Balance was measured using two devices: an instrumented wobbleboard (SMARTwobble, THETAmetrix, UK) and a sacral mounted accelerometer (Balance Sensor, THETAmetrix, UK). Participants completed a variety of tasks including forward, lateral and medial hop landing where sacral acceleration was measured for 1 second following landing. Task analysis was completed using SPSS v23, MatLab and Excel. Results: No statistically significant differences occurred between dominant and non-dominant limb for any of the assessed tasks. The absolute mean percentage difference between limbs was 4.9%±3.7% (95% CI 1.8% - 8.0%). ICC values ranged from 0.73 – 0.96 suggesting moderate to excellent test-retest reliability for accelerometry and wobbleboard. Discussion: The LSI for balance should be expected to be around 5% regardless of task. Sacral mounted accelerometry, represents a valid and reliable measurement device, for a variety of complex balance assessment tasks including hop landing. Instrumented wobbleboards may also provide a valid and reliable, clinically accessible method for measuring limb symmetry, but may not be appropriate for evaluating a variety of tasks.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gara, Michael Neil"],"institution":"Bournemouth University","degree_name":null,"degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-08","date_published":"2018-08","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:12:41Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gara, Michael Neil"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2018-08-29"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2018-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Faculty of Health and Social Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["Bournemouth University"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/31187/"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["masters"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/31187/1/GARA%2C%20Michael%20Neil_M.Res_2018.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Introduction: Body symmetry and functional reciprocity represent key components of normal movement (Lu & Chang 2012, Sadeghi et al 2000, Watkins 1999) making them essential components of clinical examination. To this end a limb symmetry index (LSI) of 80 – 90% of the unaffected limb has been proposed by previous authors (Daniel et al 1982, Barber et al 1990, Sapega 1990, Petschnig et al 1998). Whilst LSI has been reviewed for a large variety of potential variables, the LSI for balance remains largely unexplored. Balance is viewed as an integral part of maintaining everyday physical activity, a good quality of life and reducing health burden (Clark et al 2016). Therefore, this study aimed to determine the LSI for balance across a variety of functional tasks; whilst reviewing the use of novel yet clinically reproducible methodology. Method: A cross-sectional observational design was used. Seventeen participants (mean age 27.6±5.7 years) were recruited from the student population at Bournemouth University. Participants reported no existing injury or other balance affecting condition. Balance was measured using two devices: an instrumented wobbleboard (SMARTwobble, THETAmetrix, UK) and a sacral mounted accelerometer (Balance Sensor, THETAmetrix, UK). Participants completed a variety of tasks including forward, lateral and medial hop landing where sacral acceleration was measured for 1 second following landing. Task analysis was completed using SPSS v23, MatLab and Excel. Results: No statistically significant differences occurred between dominant and non-dominant limb for any of the assessed tasks. The absolute mean percentage difference between limbs was 4.9%±3.7% (95% CI 1.8% - 8.0%). ICC values ranged from 0.73 – 0.96 suggesting moderate to excellent test-retest reliability for accelerometry and wobbleboard. Discussion: The LSI for balance should be expected to be around 5% regardless of task. Sacral mounted accelerometry, represents a valid and reliable measurement device, for a variety of complex balance assessment tasks including hop landing. Instrumented wobbleboards may also provide a valid and reliable, clinically accessible method for measuring limb symmetry, but may not be appropriate for evaluating a variety of tasks."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring limb symmetry index for balance across a range of functional tasks."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Gara, Michael Neil"],"dc:date":["2018-08-29"],"dc:date.issued":["2018-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["Introduction: Body symmetry and functional reciprocity represent key components of normal movement (Lu & Chang 2012, Sadeghi et al 2000, Watkins 1999) making them essential components of clinical examination. To this end a limb symmetry index (LSI) of 80 – 90% of the unaffected limb has been proposed by previous authors (Daniel et al 1982, Barber et al 1990, Sapega 1990, Petschnig et al 1998). Whilst LSI has been reviewed for a large variety of potential variables, the LSI for balance remains largely unexplored. Balance is viewed as an integral part of maintaining everyday physical activity, a good quality of life and reducing health burden (Clark et al 2016). Therefore, this study aimed to determine the LSI for balance across a variety of functional tasks; whilst reviewing the use of novel yet clinically reproducible methodology. Method: A cross-sectional observational design was used. Seventeen participants (mean age 27.6±5.7 years) were recruited from the student population at Bournemouth University. Participants reported no existing injury or other balance affecting condition. Balance was measured using two devices: an instrumented wobbleboard (SMARTwobble, THETAmetrix, UK) and a sacral mounted accelerometer (Balance Sensor, THETAmetrix, UK). Participants completed a variety of tasks including forward, lateral and medial hop landing where sacral acceleration was measured for 1 second following landing. Task analysis was completed using SPSS v23, MatLab and Excel. Results: No statistically significant differences occurred between dominant and non-dominant limb for any of the assessed tasks. The absolute mean percentage difference between limbs was 4.9%±3.7% (95% CI 1.8% - 8.0%). ICC values ranged from 0.73 – 0.96 suggesting moderate to excellent test-retest reliability for accelerometry and wobbleboard. Discussion: The LSI for balance should be expected to be around 5% regardless of task. Sacral mounted accelerometry, represents a valid and reliable measurement device, for a variety of complex balance assessment tasks including hop landing. Instrumented wobbleboards may also provide a valid and reliable, clinically accessible method for measuring limb symmetry, but may not be appropriate for evaluating a variety of tasks."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/31187/1/GARA%2C%20Michael%20Neil_M.Res_2018.pdf"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:publisher.department":["Faculty of Health and Social Sciences"],"dc:publisher.institution":["Bournemouth University"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/31187/"],"dc:title":["Exploring limb symmetry index for balance across a range of functional tasks."],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["masters"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:12:41Z"}