An expert panel has attempted to pinpoint the ultimate way to measure standing balance after finding studies have used 56 different ways over the past 5 years.

The international panel including Stephen Lord from Neuroscience Research Australia said the plethora of measures highlights the complex and multifactorial nature of balance but given the importance of standing balance in fall prevention and mobility enhancement, there was a need for greater consistency.

The panel excluded 15 measures after the first round of scoring and a further 36 after round two. Five measures were considered in round three, leaving just two measures —  the Berg Balance Scale or Mini Balance Evaluation Systems Test — recommended for use when evaluating standing balance in adult populations.

“These COS recommendations for evaluating standing balance reflect an attempt to find ‘common ground’ that can meet the needs of a broad range of users. [They] will directly and substantially inform clinical research and practice internationally,” they wrote in PLOS One.