Functional and balance assessment in older adults
Cláudia Amaro dos Santos, João Francisco Duque, Hugo Vieira Pereira
Introduction: The aging process is characterized by several processes of change, which lead to a decrease
in physiological and functional capacities. Functional fitness in the elderly is of great importance for
carrying out activities of daily living, allowing the detection of limitations that result from the aging
process and thus preventing and reducing the various functional declines.
Objective: To systematically review the existing scientific literature on what is the best way to assess
functional fitness in the elderly. Method: Systematic review with search of all scientific articles, indexed
in “PubMed”, since January 2010.
Results: 323 articles were identified, of which only 8 were considered eligible for review. The studies
analyzed showed some divergence in terms of the best way to assess functional capacity and balance.
BESTest and the unstable board have been suggested as the best tests to measure balance.
Conclusions: The assessment of balance is more adequately assessed by tests on a board and the
fragility is better assessed by tests such as Timed Up and Go. The characteristics and individuality of the
populations concerned must be the primary factor in determining which assessment to apply.
