Comparison of the original and reduced versions of the Berg Balance Scale and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index in patients following hip or knee arthroplasty.

Objective: To compare the original and reduced versions of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), as completed by patients following total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA), with respect to their potential utility in clinical and research settings.

Methods: Patients with THA (n=26) or TKA (n=28) were evaluated before and after 5 to 7 weeks' participation in a home-based exercise programme. They were assessed using the original versions of the BBS and the WOMAC; scores for the reduced versions of the BBS and the WOMAC were extracted from the original versions.

Results: Good to excellent correlations (r≥0.80) were observed between the original and the reduced versions of the BBS and the WOMAC. The index of responsiveness, evaluated using standardized response means (SRM), was similar for the original and the reduced versions of the BBS and the WOMAC function sub-scale.

Conclusions: The reduced versions of the BBS and the WOMAC provided similar information to the original versions and were equally responsive. These reduced versions comprise fewer questions and may be completed in considerably less time, which suggests that they may be advantageous for clinical and research use.