Balance assessment
Also called: fall risk assessment test, balance test, Single-leg stance test, one leg balance test, single leg balance, Berg Balance Scale, Berg balance test, BBS score, Functional reach test, reach test balance, functional reach assessment
What it means
A balance assessment is a set of simple physical tests, like standing on one leg or timed walking tasks, used to measure steadiness and estimate fall risk.
Good balance lowers your chance of falling, and falls are the main trigger for fractures in bones weakened by osteoporosis.
Balance assessment covers a group of simple tests clinicians use to check how steady you are on your feet and how likely you are to fall. Common examples include the Timed Up and Go, the Berg Balance Scale, the Four-Stage Balance Test (standing with feet together, then staggered, then tandem, then on one leg), single-leg stance, and the functional reach test. Each gives a score that helps flag whether your balance needs attention.
These tests matter for bone health because a fall is often what turns fragile bone into a fracture. Fracture risk depends on both bone strength and the chance of falling, so screening balance is just as important as checking bone density. If a test shows weak balance, that's useful information, not a verdict — it simply points toward targeted training.
Based on test results, a practitioner may prescribe progressive balance and functional exercises, such as standing challenges, stepping, sit-to-stand practice, or programs like Tai Chi or Otago-style training, and then recheck balance every few months to track progress. These decisions, along with any changes to exercise or medical care, should be guided by your doctor or physical therapist.
How sure is this?
Graded Established Science: Supported by broad scientific consensus and decades of research. Read each study with its grade in mind. One study is a piece of the picture, not the whole of it.
Simple balance tests help estimate fall risk, since falls are the main trigger for osteoporosis fractures.
Where this leads
WordYou just read how balance tests estimate fall risk. Curious what one of these tests actually involves? The Timed Up and Go shows you step by step.
Where the Academy teaches it
This page is the short version. The lessons teach it in full, with the context around it and a quiz to lock it in.
Related words
Fall risk is how likely you are to fall, and it matters because falling—not just weak bones—is the most common cause…
A falls history questionnaire is a simple set of questions doctors use to check how likely you are to fall, based on…
The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test times how long it takes someone to stand up from a chair, walk a short distance,…
Balance training is practice that improves your stability and coordination so you're less likely to fall — and falls…
Fear of falling is ongoing worry or anxiety about losing your balance and falling, which can make people limit their…
Proprioception is your sense of where your body and joints are in space without looking, helping you balance and…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
