Evaluation of Postural Stability and Fall Risk in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of rheumatoid arthritis on postural balance and the risk of falls. Methods: A total of 70 sobjects were recruited for the study, including 35 with RA (11 men, 24 women) and 35 healthy controls (16 men, 19 women). Patients were evaluated with the Biodex Stability System in terms of balance and risk of falling. Results: The average age of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis 46.47 ± 9.47 years, mean age of the control group was 42.97 ± 9.12 years. The mean age and body mass index of the participants did not significantly differ between groups (p=0.129, p=0.207, respectively). When groups were evaluated in terms of Overall Stability Index (OSI), Antero-Posterior Stability Index (APSI), evaluations showed that RA patients’ test scores were statistically higher than control group (respectively, p 0.001 and p=0.004). İn the similar way, Medio-Lateral Stability Index (MLSI) and Fall Risk Index (FRI) evaluations showed that RA patients’ test scores were higher than control group (respectively, p 0.001) and p 0.001). Conclusions: According to these results, in our study Rheumatoid Arthritis were found to be associated with impaired balance and risk of falling.

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Rheumatoid arthritis , Balance Disorder , Risk of Falling

Cukurova Medical Journal

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Cukurova Medical Journal