Linking What Patients Fear Doing to the Balance Tasks They Cannot Do

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who work with adults living with Parkinson disease, stroke, or multiple sclerosis, and who plan or carry out balance and gait programs in inpatient, outpatient, or home settings.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants; also relevant to occupational therapists and rehabilitation clinicians involved in neurologic balance care.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course reports on a single peer-reviewed study. Every finding, number, and conclusion presented here traces to that article.

Cardini R, Torchio A, Aprile I, Turolla A, Cattaneo D, Gervasoni E. Investigating Balance Perception and Balance Performance in Neurological Disorders for Targeted Rehabilitation Strategies. Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal. 2025;105(7):pzaf075.

Scope of this course

The study was observational and cross-sectional. It describes how self-reported balance confidence lined up with performance on individual balance test items at a single point in time. It did not test a treatment, and it cannot establish that training a given balance system changes a given daily activity.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe what the study measured in 299 adults with Parkinson disease, stroke, or multiple sclerosis, including the patient-reported measure of balance confidence and the two performance measures of static and dynamic balance.
2. Name the balance systems the authors used to organize the Berg Balance Scale and Dynamic Gait Index items, and state which ones emerged as the main ones linked to confidence in daily activities.
3. Explain the direction of the study's main finding regarding dynamic versus static balance items, and state the limits the authors placed on their own conclusions.

1. Start Here: course overview, objectives, and how to earn your 0.5 contact hour
2. Podcast: Balance Confidence Meets Balance Performance (about nine minutes)
3. Who Was Studied: 299 Adults With Parkinson Disease, Stroke, or Multiple Sclerosis
4. Matching Daily Activities to Balance Tasks and Balance Systems
5. Which Activities Lined Up With Which Balance Tasks
6. What This Study Could Not Show
7. From Framework to Task-Oriented Balance Planning
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-test (5 questions, 80% to pass, retakes allowed) and course evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. Based On
2. This course reports on a single peer-reviewed study. Every finding, number, and conclusion presented here traces to that article.
3. Cardini R, Torchio A, Aprile I, Turolla A, Cattaneo D, Gervasoni E. Investigating Balance Perception and Balance Performance in Neurological Disorders for Targeted Rehabilitation Strategies. Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal. 2025;105(7):pzaf075.
4. Scope of this course
5. The study was observational and cross-sectional. It describes how self-reported balance confidence lined up with performance on individual balance test items at a single point in time. It did not test a treatment, and it cannot establish that training a given balance system changes a given daily activity.