Background

Computerized dynamic posturography is commonly used to assess balance in service members, but normative values for the military population have not been established.

Research question

What are the normative values for the Motor Control Test (MCT), Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and the enhanced SOT (eSOT) within the military population and at which point do they differ?

Methods

Cross-sectional study. 237 active duty service members (78 % male) completed the MCT, SOT and the eSOT with the sway manipulated at a gain of 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, or 2.0. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the means of men and women for the SOT and MCT composite scores. A Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare the means of age groups for the SOT composite score. An independent t-test was used to compare the SOT composite scores from our military population to the manufacturer’s normative (civilian) data. The means and standard deviations for the eSOT scores were reported for each gain. Paired-samples t-tests were performed to compare the SOT composite score with the eSOT composite score for each level of gain.

Results

There was no difference between SOT composite scores for men and women (Mann-Whitney U = 4363.50, p = 0.19) or among age groups (Kruskal-Wallis = 2.77, p = 0.25). The mean SOT composite scores were not different from the manufacturer’s normative values (p = 0.155). SOT composite scores were significantly higher than eSOT composite scores for gains of 1.4 (t = 3.16, p = 0.003), 1.6 (t = 5.73, p < 0.001), 1.8 (t = 5.26, p < 0.001) and 2.0 (t = 5.89, p < 0.001). MCT composite scores were lower in the 18−26 year old than the 36−45 year old age group (p = 0.013).

Significance

This study establishes normative values for the MCT, SOT and eSOT in active duty military service members. The results suggest that the manufacturer’s normal values are appropriate for making judgments about the postural stability of service members.

中文翻译：

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现役军人感觉组织测试的规范值

背景

通常使用计算机动态姿势描记法评估服役人员的平衡，但尚未确定军人的规范值。

研究问题

军事人群中的运动控制测试（MCT），感觉组织测试（SOT）和增强型SOT（eSOT）的规范值是多少？在什么时候有所不同？

方法

横断面研究。237名现役军人（男性占78％）完成了MCT，SOT和eSOT的操纵，其摆动得到的增益分别为1.2、1.4、1.6、1.8或2.0。使用Mann-Whitney U检验比较SOT和MCT综合得分的男性和女性平均值。使用Kruskal-Wallis H检验比较SOT综合评分的年龄组平均值。使用独立的t检验来比较我们军人的SOT综合得分与制造商的规范（民用）数据。报告每个增益的eSOT得分的平均值和标准偏差。进行配对样本t检验以比较每个增益水平的SOT综合得分与eSOT综合得分。

结果

男性和女性（Mann-Whitney U = 4363.50，p = 0.19）或年龄组（Kruskal-Wallis = 2.77，p = 0.25）之间的SOT综合评分之间没有差异。SOT综合平均得分与制造商的标准值无差异（p = 0.155）。SOT综合得分显着高于eSOT综合得分，分别为1.4（t = 3.16，p = 0.003），1.6（t = 5.73，p <0.001），1.8（t = 5.26，p <0.001）和2.0（t = 5.89，p <0.001）。18至26岁年龄组的MCT综合评分低于36至45岁年龄组（p = 0.013）。

意义

这项研究建立了现役军人中MCT，SOT和eSOT的规范性价值。结果表明，制造商的正常值适合于判断服务人员的姿势稳定性。