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Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Individuals with balance and gait problems encounter additional challenges navigating this post-coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) world. All but the best fitting facemasks partially obscure the lower visual field. Facemask use by individuals with balance and gait problems has the potential to further compromise walking safety. More broadly, as the world reopens for business, balance and gait testing in clinics and research laboratories will also be impacted by facemask use. Here, we highlight some of the challenges faced by patients, clinicians, and researchers as they return to "normal" after COVID-19. Video Abstract is available for insights from the authors (see the Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, available at: http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A328). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aimed to investigate the effects of incorporating vibrotactile sensory augmentation (SA) on balance performance among people with unilateral vestibular disorders (UVD). METHODS: Eight participants with UVD were recruited. Participants completed 18 balance training sessions across six weeks in a clinical setting. Four participants (68.1±7.5 yrs) were randomized to the experimental group (EG) and received trunk-based vibrotactile SA while performing the balance exercises, and four participants (63.1±11.3 yrs) were assigned to the control group (CG); CG participants completed the balance training without SA. Clinical and kinematic balance performance measures were collected before training; midway through training; and one week, one month, and six months after training. RESULTS: All participants, regardless of group, demonstrated improvements in a subset of the clinical or balance metrics immediately following completion of the balance training protocol. The EG showed significantly greater improvements than the CG for the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale and postural stability during the two standing balance exercises with head movements. The EG also had larger improvements than the CG for the Sensory Organization Test (SOT), Mini Balance Evaluations Systems Test, Gait Speed Test, Dynamic Gait Index, Functional Gait Assessment, and vestibular reliance metric calculated based on the SOT. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating vibrotactile SA into vestibular rehabilitation programs may lead to additional benefits that may be retained up to six months after training compared to training without vibrotactile SA. A larger study is warranted to demonstrate statistical significance between the groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Subjective visual vertical (SVV) deviations have been correlated to abnormal cerebellar function in individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). It has been shown that individuals with MS have increased incidence of SVV abnormalities, yet this is not routinely tested in this population during physical therapy evaluation. Objective: This study aims to determine if there is a relationship between SVV and balance performance in people with MS who have cerebellar involvement. We hypothesize that individuals with greater SVV deviations will have worse balance performance. Methods: Fifteen females and five males (mean age 54.5 years [±7.03 SD]) with the diagnosis of MS and cerebellar involvement participated. Computerized SVV testing included rod and rod‐and‐frame conditions. None of the balance outcomes were correlated with the rod‐only condition. Because there was a difference in magnitude of results within the rod‐and‐frame condition, based on whether the frame was rotated clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW), they were analysed independently. Results: For all six of the balance outcomes, there was a statistically significant moderate correlation with SVV deviations when the frame was tilted CCW: Barthel Index (r = −0.47, p = 0.018), Berg Balance Score (r = −0.59, p = 0.003), gait velocity (r = −0.52, p = 0.010), International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (r = 0.56, p = 0.006), Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (r = 0.62, p = 0.002), and Timed Up and Go (r = 0.58, p = 0.003). Interestingly, the Barthel Index was the only outcome that had statistical significance with a moderate correlation (r = −0.66, p = 0.001) when the frame was rotated CW. In this cohort, greater deviations during the rod‐and‐frame condition of SVV testing correlated with worse functional outcomes, especially when the frame was tilted CCW. Conclusion: Individuals with MS who demonstrate decreased balance performance may rely more heavily on visual backgrounds. Implementation of SVV assessment for individuals with MS may provide clinicians with valuable information to identify clinical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]