Posturography is an objective way to systematically interpret postural control. Recent evidence suggests self-selected stance width when conducting posturography in healthy young participants, as it is easy to perform yet standardized. It is unclear, if this is similarly applicable to healthy older adults which can better serve as comparison group for persons with specific impairments, like Parkinson's disease, who might have problems with set foot distances. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different stance widths on a set of parameters in healthy older adults. Twenty-four healthy elderly (65.6 ± 5.0 years, BMI 26.2 ± 4.5 kg/m) participated in the study. Posturographic measurement consisted of two tests (body sway, BS; limits of stability, LoS) each assessed in five stance widths on a force platform. A series of time domain and frequency domain parameters, such as BS and LoS range, sample entropy, mean velocity, and balance functional reserve were calculated. Anthropometric parameters and self-selected stance width (mean 17.7 ± 4.7 cm) showed positive correlation. One-way repeated measures MANOVA revealed significant differences between all parameters and foot positions. Except for sample entropy in A-P dimension, univariate analysis showed significant effects of stance widths on the parameters with stronger effects on M-L dimensions. Outcomes acquired in self-selected stance width provide comparable results to standardized stance widths 20 and 30 cm. The recommendation of self-selected stance width can be adopted to older healthy subjects. Furthermore, it reflects a natural stance and includes individual body composition.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00415-022-11144-5 | DOI Listing |
PLoS One
January 2025
School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Our ability to balance upright provides a stable platform to perform daily activities. Balance deficits associated with various clinical conditions may affect activities of daily living, highlighting the importance of quantifying standing balance in ecological environments. Although typically performed in laboratory settings, the growing availability of low-cost inertial measurement units (IMUs) allows the assessment of balance in the real world.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGait Posture
December 2024
School of Health and Exercise Sciences, The University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address:
Background: To maintain standing balance, vestibular cues are processed and integrated with other sensorimotor signals to produce appropriate motor adjustments. Whole-body vestibular-driven postural responses are context-dependent and transformed based upon head and foot posture. Previous reports indicate the importance of intrinsic foot muscles during standing, but it is unclear how vestibular-driven responses of these muscles are modulated by alterations in stability and head posture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Med Genet A
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Gait disturbance is a common motor symptom in Angelman syndrome (AS), but its characteristics have been poorly studied quantitatively. This study aimed to analyze gait characteristics in school-age children with AS using three-dimensional gait analysis (3DGA). Patients with clinically and genetically confirmed AS and healthy children aged 6-15 years were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Japan.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantitatively measure the split-step skills of the world's top badminton players to clarify the characteristics underlying these skills when moving into the forehand position in the rear court.
Methods: We analyzed the four best ranking players (1st to 4th) in the men's singles competition at the World Badminton Federation (BWF) World Championships 2023, a world tournament whose match videos are available online. Analysis 1 was conducted to determine the location of the players' feet on the court when performing a split-step while moving to the forehand rear court, as well as the width of the stance and the reaction time from that stance to taking the first step.
PLoS One
December 2024
Lauflabor Locomotion Laboratory, Institute of Sport Science, Centre for Cognitive Science, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany.
Maintaining balance during human walking hinges on the exquisite orchestration of whole-body angular momentum (WBAM). This study delves into the regulation of WBAM during gait by examining balance strategies in response to upper-body moment perturbations in the frontal plane. A portable Angular Momentum Perturbator (AMP) was utilized in this work, capable of generating perturbation torques on the upper body while minimizing the impact on the center of mass (CoM) excursions.
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