Capacity of adolescents with cerebral palsy on paediatric balance scale and Berg balance scale

The Berg balance scale (BBS) and the paediatric balance scale (PBS) are reliable tools for measuring balance ability. However, reports of BBS and PBS scores in adolescent cerebral palsy have been limited. The objectives of this study were to investigate functional balance capacities, as tested with the BBS and PBS in adolescents with cerebral palsy, to compare the total PBS and BBS scores between Gross Motor Function Classification System-Expanded and Revised (GMFCS-E&R) levels and to compare the static balance PBS and BBS scores within each GMFCS-E&R level. Fifty-eight school-aged adolescents with cerebral palsy between the ages of 12 and 18 years with GMFCS-E&R levels of I to IV were recruited. The Kruskal-Wallis test was utilized to compare the median scores for the PBS and BBS between the different GMFCS-E&R levels. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to examine the differences in the static balance scores between the PBS and the BBS within the same GMFCS-E&R levels. The results reveal that there were differences in the BBS and PBS scores among the four GMFCS-E&R levels. A significant difference was found between the BBS and PBS scores only among the patients with cerebral palsy and level III GMFCS-E&R. The BBS and PBS are valid and reliable tools for clinical examination and for distinguishing between levels of functional balance in adolescents with cerebral palsy.