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Transient change in standing posture after linear treadmill locomotion.
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya City University Medical School, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan. mhashiba@na.rim.or.jp
The Japanese Journal of Physiology
|February 18, 1999
Summary
Treadmill exercise alters balance, causing postural sway and self-motion perception. Vision is key, as closing eyes during treadmill walking eliminated these effects, suggesting visual-somatosensory conflict storage.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
- Human Movement Science
Background:
- Postural sway and self-motion perception are complex phenomena influenced by sensory input.
- Treadmill exercise presents a unique environment that may alter sensory processing related to locomotion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of treadmill running and walking on subsequent postural sway and self-motion perception.
- To determine the role of visual input in these post-exercise effects.
Main Methods:
- 24 healthy subjects performed treadmill running (10 km/h) and walking (7 km/h) for 7 minutes with eyes open.
- Postural sway was measured after exercise.
- A subset of subjects walked with eyes closed on the treadmill to assess visual influence.
Main Results:
- Treadmill running induced significantly greater postural aftereffects than normal running.
- Treadmill walking also resulted in postural aftereffects, though less pronounced than running.
- Eliminating visual input (eyes closed) during treadmill walking abolished postural sway and self-motion perception.
Conclusions:
- Vision plays a critical role in generating postural sway and self-motion perception after treadmill locomotion.
- A visual-somatosensory/motor conflict during treadmill use may lead to stored sensory information.
- This stored information is hypothesized to cause subsequent postural changes and perceived self-motion.