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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control

Published on: September 11, 2019

Postural control during kneeling.

Rinaldo André Mezzarane¹, André Fabio Kohn

¹Neuroscience Program and Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, Universidade de São Paulo, EPUSP, PTC, Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. rinaldo@leb.usp.br

Experimental Brain Research

|February 20, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Kneeling improves postural control by reducing sway at low frequencies, despite increased fast oscillations. Neural control adjustments, including reduced gains and increased noise, also contribute to balance changes.

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Area of Science:

Biomechanics
Neuroscience
Human Postural Control

Background:

Postural control is crucial for stability, with quiet standing being a common reference posture.
Kneeling presents a less natural posture, potentially altering postural control mechanisms and center of pressure (CPx) variability.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare postural control in kneeling versus standing positions.
To investigate the biomechanical and neural contributions to postural control changes between kneeling and standing.

Main Methods:

Analysis of center of pressure (CPx) motion in the sagittal plane (time and frequency domains).
Comparison of power spectral density (PSD), root mean square (RMS), and mean velocity (MV) between kneeling (KN) and upright (UP) postures.
Utilized a PID neural model simulating postural sway to differentiate biomechanical and neural control factors.

Main Results:

Kneeling significantly decreased low-frequency sway (below 0.3 Hz) but increased high-frequency oscillations (above 0.7 Hz) compared to standing.
Root mean square (RMS) of CPx was higher in upright standing, while mean velocity (MV) was higher in kneeling.
Model fitting indicated that while altered anthropometrics in kneeling reduce low-frequency sway, neural adjustments (lower proportional/derivative gains, increased noise) are also significant.

Conclusions:

Kneeling alters postural control, characterized by reduced low-frequency sway and increased high-frequency oscillations.
Both biomechanical factors (lower center of gravity) and neural adaptations play a role in postural control changes during kneeling.
Increased neural noise, particularly with eyes closed, further impacts postural control in both kneeling and standing.