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Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
Published on: September 11, 2019
Postural control in healthy individuals.
Amanda Marie Clifford1, Heather Holder-Powell
1Physiotherapy Dept., Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. amanda.clifford@ul.ie
Clinical Biomechanics (Bristol, Avon)
|May 14, 2010
Summary
Healthy individuals utilize a greater proportion of non-dominant limbs for balance control, employing an ankle strategy more frequently. This finding highlights potential asymmetries in postural control between limbs, important for rehabilitation.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Human Movement Science
- Rehabilitation Science
Background:
- Rehabilitation often assumes limb symmetry post-injury, using the uninjured limb as a baseline.
- This assumption may be flawed, as pre-injury asymmetries in postural control could exist.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate postural control differences between functionally dominant and non-dominant lower limbs in healthy individuals.
- To determine if healthy individuals exhibit limb-specific strategies for maintaining balance.
Main Methods:
- 20 healthy, active adults (10 male, 10 female) participated after ethical approval.
- Bilateral joint angle data was collected during single-leg stance to analyze balance strategies.
- Movement strategies and stability (wobble) were assessed using kinematic analysis.
Main Results:
- A significantly greater use of the ankle strategy (inverted pendulum model) was observed in the non-dominant limb for sagittal plane balance (p>0.003).
- No significant differences in balance control were found in the coronal plane.
- No significant differences in the amount of wobble were detected between limbs.
Conclusions:
- Healthy individuals demonstrate a tendency towards more 'pendular-like' postural control with their non-dominant limb.
- Assessing joint angle changes during single-leg stance can reveal insights into postural control strategies.
- These findings can inform rehabilitation programs to optimize functional outcomes by considering limb-specific capabilities.
