Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings
Published on: July 26, 2022
Reliability of force-platform measures of postural sway and expertise-related differences
Zohreh Meshkati1, Mehdi Namazizadeh, Mahyar Salavati
1Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Context:
Although reliability is a population-specific property, few studies have investigated the measurement error associated with force-platform parameters in athletic populations.
Objective:
To investigate the skill-related differences between athletes and nonathletes in reliability of center-of-pressure (COP) summary measures under eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) conditions.
Design:
Test-retest reliability study.
Setting:
COP was recorded during double-leg quiet standing on a Kistler force platform before and after a fatiguing treadmill exercise, with EO and EC.
Participants:
31 male participants including 15 athletes practiced in karate and 16 nonathletes.
Main Outcome Measures:
Standard deviation (SD) of amplitude, phase-plane portrait, SD of velocity, mean total velocity, and area were calculated from 30-s COP data. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement, and coefficient of variation (CV) were used as estimates of reliability and precision.
Results:
Higher ICCs were found for COP measures in the athlete (compared with the nonathlete) group, postfatigued (compared with prefatigued) condition, and EC (compared with EO) tests. CVs smaller than 15% were obtained for most of the COP measures. SD of velocity in the anteroposterior direction showed the highest reliability in most conditions.
Conclusions:
Tests with EC and to a lesser extent tests performed in the athlete group and in the postfatigued condition showed better reliability.
