Score the 2006 Tinetti Balance and Gait Evaluation: balance out of 16, gait out of 12, total mobility score out of 28. For clinicians. Used with permission, Mary E. Tinetti, M.D.© Copyright; 2006Reviewed by Dr. Richard Holsman, PT, DPT, NCS · Last reviewed November 13, 2026
Score the 9 balance maneuvers and the 8 gait observations as you watch. Balance (out of 16), gait (out of 12) and the total mobility score (out of 28) update as you go. When you’re done, print it or save it as a PDF. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
Equipment and time: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Rehabilitation Measures Database.
This supports clinical judgment. It is not a diagnosis. A POMA score can point to fall risk, but it can’t say for sure whether a person will fall, or why. Read it together with the rest of the exam. Results should be interpreted by the treating physical therapist.
Higher is better (maximum 28). Many Tinetti score sheets in clinical use list these fall-risk bands. They are not printed on the 2006 form, they come from score sheets rather than a single validation study, and some sheets use slightly different bands (for example <19, 19–24 and 25–28):
| Total (out of 28) | Fall risk on the score sheet |
|---|---|
| 18 or less | High |
| 19 to 23 | Moderate |
| 24 or more | Low |
As listed by the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Rehabilitation Measures Database:
| Group | Cut-off | Study |
|---|---|---|
| Older adults (residential care) | Total 19; balance 10 | Faber et al., 2006; sensitivity 64%, specificity 66.1% |
| Nursing-home residents with dementia | Total 21; balance 11 | Sterke et al., 2010; total: sensitivity 85%, specificity 56% |
| Older adults in residential care | Balance 14 | Harada et al., 1995; sensitivity 68%, specificity 78% |
| Frail older day-hospital patients | Total 11 | Thomas & Lane, 2005; sensitivity 83%, specificity 72% |
| Parkinson disease | Total < 20 | Kegelmeyer et al., 2007; sensitivity 76%, specificity 66% |
| Parkinson disease | Total 17.5; balance 11.5; gait 10.5 | Contreras & Grandas, 2012 |
| Chronic stroke | Total < 20 | Soyuer & Öztürk, 2007; sensitivity 66%, specificity 79.2% |
| Group | Minimal detectable change |
|---|---|
| Older adults in residential care (mean age 84.9) | 4.2 and 4.0 points for an individual (two raters) (Faber et al., 2006) |
| Inpatients after a first stroke | 6 points (Canbek et al., 2013) |
Ko et al. (2009), 1,000 community-dwelling Korean older adults, mean (SD): men 65–79, 26.21 (3.40); women 65–79, 25.16 (4.30); men 80+, 23.29 (6.02); women 80+, 17.20 (8.32).
Related clinician tools: Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go, Dynamic Gait Index and Functional Gait Assessment.
Reviewed by Dr. Richard Holsman, PT, DPT, NCS (Doctor of Physical Therapy; board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy). Last reviewed: .
Who uses this tool. This is a clinician-administered test. A physical therapist (or other trained clinician) gives it, guards the patient, and interprets the result together with the rest of the exam. It is not a self-test and it does not diagnose.
Privacy. Scoring runs only in your web browser. Nothing you enter is saved, sent to us or shared.
How references are graded. [I] the instrument or score sheet itself; [P] a primary study whose abstract or full text we read; [S] a value taken from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Rehabilitation Measures Database summary of the cited study (we did not read that study itself); [T] a textbook or library catalog record used to confirm a citation.
Licensing. Used with permission, Mary E. Tinetti, M.D.© Copyright; 2006. The Tinetti POMA item wording and scoring are reproduced on this page with the written permission of Mary E. Tinetti, M.D., Yale School of Medicine (granted November 11, 2026, no fee). The page layout, calculator code and explanatory text are © Holsman Physical Therapy. Please obtain your own permission before reproducing the POMA elsewhere.
Review policy. Every number on this page (cut-offs, change values, norms) is taken from the sources listed above, and we leave a value out when we cannot verify it from a source we have read. We re-check each tool page at least once a year and whenever a cited source is corrected or updated. To report an error, please contact us.
Change log.
Conflict of interest and advertising. This page is published by Holsman Physical Therapy, which provides physical therapy services. The tool is free, carries no advertising and no sponsored content, and we receive no payment from the instrument’s authors, publishers or any manufacturer. Holsman Physical Therapy is not affiliated with the authors, journals or organizations cited, and they do not endorse this website.
Next step: Holsman physical therapists see patients at clinics across North Jersey, the Bronx and Brooklyn, plus in-home visits. Refer a patient or call 1-855-465-7626.
The Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA), also called the Tinetti test or Tinetti Mobility Test, is a clinician-scored test of balance and gait in older adults described by Dr. Mary E. Tinetti (J Am Geriatr Soc, 1986). The version on this page is the 2006 Tinetti Balance and Gait Evaluation: 9 balance maneuvers scored out of 16 and 8 gait observations scored out of 12, for a total out of 28.
Each observation is scored 0, 1 or 2 (some are 0 or 1), where 0 is the most impaired. Balance items add up to 16 and gait items to 12. The total mobility score is balance plus gait, out of 28. Higher scores mean better balance and gait.
Widely used Tinetti score sheets list 18 or less as high fall risk, 19 to 23 as moderate and 24 or more as low. These bands are not part of the 2006 form, and some sheets use slightly different bands. Research cut-offs vary by group: for example 19 in older adults (Faber et al., 2006) and under 20 in Parkinson disease (Kegelmeyer et al., 2007), as listed by the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
In older adults living in residential care, the minimal detectable change for one person was 4.2 and 4.0 points for two raters (Faber et al., 2006). In inpatients after a first stroke it was 6 points (Canbek et al., 2013).
A physical therapist or other trained clinician. The patient stands, turns, is nudged and closes their eyes, so the examiner must guard closely. A physical therapist interprets the score together with the rest of the exam.
No. Everything runs in your web browser. Nothing is sent to us or stored.
Holsman physical therapists see patients at clinics across North Jersey, the Bronx and Brooklyn, plus in-home visits.
📞 Call 1-855-465-7626