The effect of foot position on the modified clinical test of sensory interaction and balance.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there was a difference in the timed scores on a modified version of the Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction and Balance (CTSIB) with the feet apart versus feet together and to correlate modified CTSIB scores with Sensory Organization Test (SOT) scores.
DESIGN: Prospective correlational study.
SETTING: Outpatient clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty patients (mean age, 58+/-17 y) with vestibular dysfunction who were undergoing vestibular therapy.
INTERVENTIONS: Subjects completed the modified CTSIB with their feet together and feet apart at the end of a vestibular therapy session. Subjects also completed the SOT on the same day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Modified CTSIB scores (feet together, feet apart) and SOT scores.
RESULTS: Modified CTSIB scores were slightly lower when performed with feet together as compared with feet apart. However, no statistically significant difference existed between scores on the modified CTSIB with feet together versus feet apart using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (P<.05). The modified CTSIB correlated more strongly with SOT scores when performed with feet together than with feet apart using the Spearman rho.
CONCLUSIONS: Scores on the modified CTSIB performed with the feet together did not differ from scores on the modified CTSIB performed with the feet apart. In persons with vestibular disorders, the CTSIB done with the feet together correlated more closely with the SOT.