scholarly journals Associations Between Bipedal Stance Stability and Locomotor Stability Following a Trip in Unilateral Vestibulopathy

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher McCrum ◽  
Katrin Eysel-Gosepath ◽  
Gaspar Epro ◽  
Kenneth Meijer ◽  
Hans H.C.M. Savelberg ◽  
...  

Posturography is used to assess balance in clinical settings, but its relationship to gait stability is unclear. We assessed if dynamic gait stability is associated with standing balance in 12 patients with unilateral vestibulopathy. Participants were unexpectedly tripped during treadmill walking and the change in the margin of stability (MoSchange) and base of support (BoSchange) relative to nonperturbed walking was calculated for the perturbed and first recovery steps. The center of pressure (COP) path during 30-s stance with eyes open and closed, and the distance between the most anterior point of the COP and the anterior BoS boundary during forward leaning (ADist), were assessed using a force plate. Pearson correlations were conducted between the static and dynamic variables. The perturbation caused a large decrease in the BoS, leading to a decrease in MoS. One of 12 correlations was significant (MoSchange at the perturbed step and ADist; r = −.595, P = .041; nonsignificant correlations: .068 ≤ P ≤ .995). The results suggest that different control mechanisms may be involved in stance and gait stability, as a consistent relationship was not found. Therefore, posturography may be of limited use in predicting stability in dynamic situations.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qipeng Song ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Cui Zhang ◽  
Min Mao ◽  
Li Li

Falls during stair negotiation have become one of the leading causes of accidental death. The effects of a concurrent cognitive or manual dual-task paradigm on dynamic gait stability remain uncertain. How much dynamic gait stability is influenced by gait velocity is also not clear. A total of 16 healthy young females descended a staircase under three different walking conditions: descend stairs only (single task), descend stairs while performing subtraction (cognitive dual-task), and descend stairs while carrying a glass of water (manual dual-task). An eight-camera Vicon motion analysis system and a Kistler force plate embedded into the third step of the staircase were used synchronously to collect kinematic and kinetic data. Gait velocity decreased and dynamic gait stability increased with both cognitive and manual dual-task conditions. The center of mass–center of pressure inclination angle increased with gait velocity but decreased with the manual dual-task condition compared to the single-task condition. Changes in gait velocity caused by the dual-task paradigm can partially explain the effects of dual-task dynamic gait stability. The influence of gait velocity should be considered in the assessment of dual-task effects.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Mochizuki ◽  
Marcos Duarte ◽  
Alberto Carlos Amadio ◽  
Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky ◽  
Mark L. Latash

We investigated changes in postural sway and its fractions associated with manipulations of the dimensions of the support area. Nine healthy adults stood as quietly as possible, with their eyes open, on a force plate as well as on 5 boards with reduced support area. The center of pressure (COP) trajectory was computed and decomposed into rambling (Rm) and trembling (Tr) trajectories. Sway components were quantified using RMS (root mean square) value, average velocity, and sway area. During standing on the force plate, the RMS was larger for the anterior-posterior (AP) sway components than for the mediolateral (ML) components. During standing on boards with reduced support area, sway increased in both directions. The increase was more pronounced when standing on boards with a smaller support area. Changes in the larger dimension of the support area also affected sway, but not as much as changes in the smaller dimension. ML instability had larger effects on indices of sway compared to AP instability. The average velocity of Rm was larger while the average velocity of Tr was smaller in the AP direction vs. the ML direction. The findings can be interpreted within the hypothesis of an active search function of postural sway. During standing on boards with reduced support area, increased sway may by itself lead to loss of balance. The findings also corroborate the hypothesis of Duarte and Zatsiorsky that Rm and Tr reveal different postural control mechanisms.


2020 ◽  
pp. 003151252094509
Author(s):  
Mark Walsh ◽  
Caroline Church ◽  
Audrey Hoffmeister ◽  
Dean Smith ◽  
Joshua Haworth

Measurements of postural sway are used to assess physiological changes due to therapy or sport training, or to describe group differences based on activity history or disease status. Portable force plates have been widely adopted for this purpose, leading us in this study to validate with linear and nonlinear metrics the posturographic data derived from both a portable plate (Natus) when compared to an in-ground plate (Bertec). Twenty participants stood on each plate for two trials each, with and without a foam perturbation and with and without eyes open on each surface. We calculated measures of path length, range, root mean squares, sample entropy, and correlation dimensions from center of pressure traces on each plate. An intraclass correlation coefficient across trials from each plate in each condition indicated satisfactory overall reliability (ICC consistency), supporting the use of either plate for postural sway research and interventions. Additionally, our results generally supported common validity (ICC absolute agreement), though, the specific degree of similarity differed for each of the tested metrics of postural sway, especially when considering whether or not data was filtered. For situations in which participants cannot visit a laboratory (e.g. performing athletes, community dwelling clinical patients, and virus risk concerns) an in-home portable force plate is a trusted and valuable data collection tool.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-23
Author(s):  
Juhi K. Bharnuke ◽  
Rajani P. Mullerpatan ◽  
Claire Hiller

Indian classical dance involves a constant change of the base of support from stance to low jumps and spins along with intricate footwork. Graceful movement of the torso, shifting from side to side and turning around the axis of the spine, challenges balance. Yet, balance performance remains unexplored in Indian classical dancers. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the standing balance of 36 active female dancers (18 to 25 years of age) who had performed Indian classical dance for a minimum of 10 years with 36 healthy age-matched women not involved in regular physical activity. Balance was evaluated in static and dynamic conditions of single and dual-limb stance on a force plate using center-of-pressure trajectory and the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT). Dancers demonstrated better balance on both instrumented and non-instrumented outcome variables: wide base of support with eyes open and with eyes closed; for 30-second single limb stance with eyes open and with eyes closed; for 13-second dual task in single limb stance; and for 22-second dual task in wide base of support. The SEBT revealed significantly better balance performance of dancers in the three directions tested: anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral. There was also a strength component of the study on which the dancers achieved significantly higher scores than controls for the three muscle groups tested (gastrocsoleus, gluteus medius, and quadriceps), which can be attributed to their training. These findings can be used to recommend classical dance training to achieve the dual purpose of deriving better balance and stronger bodies and maintaining the Indian dance heritage.


Scientifica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Talebi ◽  
Mohammad Taghi Karimi ◽  
Seyed Hamid Reza Abtahi ◽  
Niloofar Fereshtenejad

Aims. Vestibular system is indicated as one of the most important sensors responsible for static and dynamic postural control. In this study, we evaluated static balance in patients with unilateral vestibular impairments.Materials and Methods. We compared static balance control using Kistler force plate platform between 10 patients with unilateral vestibular impairments and 20 normal counterparts in the same sex ratio and age limits (50±7). We evaluated excursion and velocity of center of pressure (COP) and path length in anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) planes with eyes open and with eyes closed.Results. There was no significant difference between COP excursions in ML and AP planes between both groups with eyes open and eyes closed (pvalue > 0.05). In contrast, the difference between velocity and path length of COP in the mentioned planes was significant between both groups with eyes open and eyes closed (pvalue < 0.05).Conclusions. The present study showed the static instability and balance of patients with vestibular impairments indicated by the abnormal characteristics of body balance.


Author(s):  
G. Posa ◽  
D. Farkasinszky ◽  
T. Margithazi ◽  
E. Nagy

AbstractPurposeThe objective of this pilot study was to compare the effects of two parallel balance trainings on postural sway and balance confidence. The study was performed in different contexts with stable vs. unstable base of support and balance confidence was measured with a scale modified for young adults with higher functional level.Materials/methodsTwenty healthy female physiotherapist students volunteered for the study and took part in a six-week balance training intervention. They were randomly assigned to two groups training on different support surfaces. Postural sway was recorded under various conditions: on different surfaces (firm, foam) and with different visual conditions (eyes open (EO), eyes closed (EC)). Modified Activities-specific Balance Confidence (mABC) scale was self-evaluated.ResultsBoth types of training caused a significant improvement in the mABC scores. The sway path increased after the training in the less challenging balance situations. We found a tendency of decreasing sway path only in the more challenging balance situations, that is standing on foam mounted on force plate with EC.ConclusionsConsidering the improved balance confidence in the case of both groups, we suggest that an increase in sway path after balance training may be the behavioural sign of the higher confidence in the less challenging balance situations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Wachholz ◽  
Federico Tiribello ◽  
Arunee Promsri ◽  
Peter Federolf

Dual-tasking charges the sensorimotor system with performing two tasks simultaneously. Center of pressure (COP) analysis reveals the postural control that is altered during dual-tasking, but may not reveal the underlying neural mechanisms. In the current study, we hypothesized that the minimal intervention principle (MIP) provides a concept by which dual-tasking effects on the organization and prioritization of postural control can be predicted. Postural movements of 23 adolescents (age 12.7 ± 1.3; 8 females) and 15 adults (26.9 ± 2.3) were measured in a bipedal stance with eyes open, eyes closed and eyes open while performing a dual-task using a force plate and 39 reflective markers. COP data was analyzed by calculating the mean velocity, standard deviation and amplitude of displacement. Kinematic data was examined by performing a principal component analysis (PCA) and extracting postural movement components. Two variables were determined to investigate changes in amplitude (aVark) and in control (Nk) of the principal movement components. Results in aVark and in Nk agreed well with the predicted dual-tasking effects. Thus, the current study corroborates the notion that the MIP should be considered when investigating postural control under dual-tasking conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 02 (02) ◽  
pp. 100-101
Author(s):  
Rodríguez Rosal M. ◽  
Sánchez Sixto A. ◽  
Álvarez Barbosa F. ◽  
Yáñez Álvarez A.

Abstract Background and Aims Ankle proprioception can be tested in many ways. Some studies have found improvements in individuals with chronic ankle instability after receiving treatment and training proprioceptive acuity and speed. Currently, there is a scarcity of evidence concerning percutaneous neuromodulation. The first findings were reported in the post-surgical stage after total knee arthroplasty and in neural improvements and symptoms in patients with hyperactive bladder. Aim To evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous neuromodulation on the tibial nerve for the improvement of various proprioception parameters in patients with chronic ankle instability. Material and Methods Five men (age: 24.8 ± 4.9 years; height: 1.78 ± 0.08 m; weight: 86 ± 9.8 kg) with chronic ankle instability, who regularly practiced sports activities participated in the present study. People who had undergone an injury in the previous three months were excluded from the speed. Currently, there is a scarcity of evidence concerning test before and immediately after percutaneous neuromodulation. A single leg balance test was performed with eyes open and closed, maintaining the single-legged position on a force plate during 30 seconds (Accupower; AMTI, Watertown, MA) registering 1000 Hz. The displacement of the center of pressure (DOT) was determined based on the distances of its antero-posterior axes (DOT_AP) and medio-lateral (DOT_ML). Furthermore, the amplitudes of anteroposterior and mediolateral displacement were evaluated (ACPap and ACPml). The posterior tibial nerve was stimulated under ultrasound guidance using a 100 Vpp current, with a pulse width of 250 μs and a repetition frequency of 2 to 10 Hz. The process was performed on three occasions during 30 seconds, with an intensity that was acknowledged by the patient but which did not go beyond a score of 3 in the visual analog scale (VAS). The means and standard deviations were calculated for all variables. The effect size was calculated establishing the confidence interval at 90% and the probability of the change being significant was qualitatively calculated. Results A decrease was found in the ACPap (Pre-test eyes open: 5.42 ± 0.62 and eyes closed: 15.99 ± 0.60; Post-test eyes open 4.05 ± 0.36 and eyes closed 10.33 ± 0.49) after the neuromodulation intervention on the tibial nerve. This was a significant change and a “possible” effect size was found in the closed eyes condition (-0.54; ± 0.72), according to Hopkins. For the remaining variables, no significant differences were observed. Conclusions A decreased displacement of the center of mass was found in the antero-posterior axis after performing the neuromodulation technique on the tibial nerve in patients with chronic ankle instability.


Author(s):  
Cadence M Baker ◽  
Gordon E Barkwell

Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to compare the balance performance of control subjects and varsity figure skaters after spinning on a turntable for 6 seconds. It was hypothesized figure skaters would demonstrate better balance control after spinning. Methods: 9 female figure skaters and 9 female control subjects stood as still as possible for 15 seconds on a Kistler force plate during both a control condition and after spinning for 6 seconds on a turntable. Balance performance was quantified by the percentage of total time the center of pressure (CoP) was within a 5mm radius of the center of their base of support (BoS). Results: In the control condition, figure skaters and control participants did not have significantly different balance ability. In the post-spin condition, figure skaters were significantly better at maintaining their CoP within a smaller area. Conclusions: These results are valuable from a training and coaching perspective because they suggest that balance performance after spinning can be improved with training.


Author(s):  
Lara A. Thompson ◽  
Mehdi Badache

Through ground reaction (foot) forceplate-based, center-of-pressure (COP) parameters, we aimed to investigate differences in standing balance for young, healthy individuals from both athlete (soccer) and non-athlete subject populations. We investigated five, COP displacement and velocity parameters derived from the COP position time series. Soccer athlete and non-athlete subjects performed standing balance for postural tasks of increasing difficulty levels, by varying visual cues (eyes-open/eyes-closed) and base of support (wide/tandem foot placement), leading to four test conditions: 1) wide/eyes-open, 2) wide/eyes-closed, 3) tandem/eyes-open, 4) tandem/eyes-closed. By investigating position and velocity characteristics of the COP position time series, we observed that the soccer athletes had generally lower COP displacement and velocity parameters (meaning they were more stable and perhaps better able to control their body sway) than the non-athletes. This study lends new insights as to how parameters derived from the COP position can be utilized to determine differences in balance between normal subject populations (e.g., athletes versus non-athletes).


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