Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 17, 2026
A Vibrotactile Feedback Device for Seated Balance Assessment and Training
Published on: January 20, 2019
Does the type of visual feedback information change the control of standing balance?
Fabio Dos Anjos1,2, Thiago Lemos3,4,5, Luís Aureliano Imbiriba3
1Núcleo de Estudos do Movimento Humano (NEMoH), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. fv.dosanjos@gmail.com.
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether different types of visual feedback influence the control of standing balance.
Methods:
Twenty-six subjects performed three tasks on a force platform: (1) standing with eyes open; (2) maintaining the own center of pressure (COP) displacement (internal feedback) on a target; and (3) pointing with a handheld laser pointer (external feedback) on a target. The COP and ankle displacements were measured through a force platform and a biaxial electrogoniometer, respectively, during 60 s in each task. Global posturographic parameters were computed in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions. In addition, the standard deviation and mean frequency of the ankle movements were also calculated in the sagittal plane.
Results:
The sway area and standard deviation of COP differed between conditions, wherein smaller and higher values were typically observed during the internal and external feedback, respectively. Conversely, both the mean frequency and the mean velocity of COP were greater during internal feedback compared with other tasks, while external feedback usually leads to smaller values. Additionally, smaller and higher values for the ankle standard deviation and the ankle mean frequency, respectively, were observed during internal feedback, with the external feedback condition showing an opposite behavior.
Conclusions:
These results showed that the global postural sway and the postural adjustments at ankle during standing balance change depending on the type of visual feedback information.
