Deans' stroke musings: Subtype-specific optimal cut-off values of the Berg Balance Scale for predicting independent walking in inpatient stroke rehabilitation: a multicentre cohort study

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Monday, July 13, 2026

Subtype-specific optimal cut-off values of the Berg Balance Scale for predicting independent walking in inpatient stroke rehabilitation: a multicentre cohort study

I consider the Berg Balance Scale ABSOLUTELY USELESS! There are NO protocols to address any failure points in it! Testing with no interventions available DOES NOTHING TO GET SURVIVORS RECOVERED! And you haven't figured that out yet?

Subtype-specific optimal cut-off values of the Berg Balance Scale for predicting independent walking in inpatient stroke rehabilitation: a multicentre cohort study

eong-Soo KimDepartment of Physical Therapy, College of Health Science, Yonsei University, Wonju, Republic of Korea; Department of Mirae Rehabilitation Research, Seoul Rehabilitation Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Koreahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9994-9360
In-Geon HwangDepartment of Mirae Rehabilitation Research, Seoul Rehabilitation Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Koreahttps://orcid.org/0009-0007-6345-1297
Eu-Jeong KoDepartment of Recovery Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul Rehabilitation Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Koreahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8796-9655

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/jrm.v58.45663

Keywords:

balance, Berg Balance Scale, gait, prediction, rehabilitation, stroke

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether admission Berg Balance Scale score independently predicts independent walking on discharge after adjustment for major confounders, and to derive subtype-specific optimal cut-off values for ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke.

Design: Multicentre retrospective cohort study.

Subjects/Patients: A total of 565 stroke patients (316 ischaemic, 249 haemorrhagic) admitted to 3 inpatient rehabilitation centres in the Republic of Korea.

Methods: Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the independent predictive value of the Berg Balance Scale. Optimal cut-off values were derived using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and the Youden index. Bootstrap internal validation, calibration analysis, and decision curve analysis were performed.

Results: Admission Berg Balance Scale was a significant independent predictor of independent walking (adjusted odds ratio 1.053, 95% confidence interval 1.030–1.076). The difference in discriminative ability between the Berg Balance Scale only and multivariable models was not statistically significant (p = 0.097). The overall optimal cut-off was 24 points; subtype-specific cut-offs were 33 for ischaemic and 12 for haemorrhagic stroke.

Conclusion: The Berg Balance Scale has different optimal cut-off values by stroke subtype and, as a standalone assessment, maintains discriminative ability equivalent to a multivariable model, providing clinical evidence for subtype-specific precision rehabilitation strategies.