Concordancia entre pruebas de estabilidad unipodal estática para riesgo de caída en adultos mayores chilenos

Introduction: Postural balance is part of the functional assessment for risk of falling in aged adults. The Chilean Ministry of Health applies the Unipodal Station Test to assess static unipodal stability as a health prevention tool. Objective: To determine concordance or diagnostic equivalence between the Unipodal Station Test and the Unipodal Test for static body stability, in the open eyes modality. Methods: Cross-sectional study of diagnostic concordance applied in sixty self-supporting aged adults belonging to sports workshops of the Olympic Gymnasium of San Miguel, in the Metropolitan Region of Chile, who voluntarily completed two static unipodal stability tests and answered a consultation instrument at the end of the assessment concerning the Unipodal Test for static body stability. Results: Between the two unipodal stability tests, in the open eyes modality, a significant concordance was present upon assessing good or poor stability (p = 0.0005). The aged adults who underwent assessment perceived the Unipodal Test for static body stability as a test of easy application and low level of physical risk and fatigue, as well as declared their intention to complete it again if their stability needed to be reassessed. Conclusion: Both the Unipodal Station Test and the Unipodal Test for static body stability, in the open eyes modality, were effective methods to classify good stability or poor stability correctly in the aged adults who underwent assessment. Therefore, they are equivalent and concordant for the diagnosis of static stability with unipodal support.