Balance short form MDC manuscript-2 revised paragraphs

The Minimal Detectable Change of the Hierarchical Balance Short Forms in Patients with Stroke

Outline for Introduction:
1. The need and importance of measuring balance in patients after stroke.
2. The introduction of the Hierarchical Balance Short Forms (HBSF), and the reason why we need to examine the MDC of the HBSF.
3. The concept and clinical implication of the minimal detectable change (MDC).
4. Purpose of study

1. Impaired balance is a common problem after stroke.It contributes significantly to poor recovery of activities of daily living (ADL) and mobility, and an increased risk of falls. Therefore, how to restore balance function is a key aspect of stroke rehabilitation. Moreover, an appropriate balance measure is needed for clinicians to set suitable treatment plans and to assess outcomes in patients with stroke.

3. To estimate measurement error caused by repeated measurements, minimal detectable change (MDC) has been proposed. The MDC is the minimal amount of change that can be detected beyond measurement error. It allows users to determine if an observed change in an individual patient has reached a real improvement (deterioration), or simply due to the result of measurement error. Thus, the MDC can provide clinicians and researchers useful and easy-to-understand criteria to assess change in patients’ balance function.