Standing Versus Stepping-Exploring the Relationships Between Postural Steadiness and Dynamic Reactive Balance Control

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Gerontology
• Motor Control

Background:

• Existing research often studies balance control in isolation, either quasi-statically or dynamically.
• Fewer studies have explored the connections between different balance control paradigms in older adults.
• Understanding these relationships is crucial for assessing fall risk in aging populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between quiet-stance postural steadiness and reactive balance control parameters.
• To examine these associations during both stepping and restabilization phases following a perturbation.
• To determine if quasi-static balance metrics predict dynamic reactive control in older adults.

Main Methods:

• Forty older adults participated in the study.
• Postural steadiness was measured in feet-together and tandem stance positions.
• Reactive balance was assessed using a lean-and-release perturbation, measuring stepping and restabilization responses, including center of pressure (COP) dynamics.

Main Results:

• Few moderate correlations were found between postural steadiness and reactive spatio-temporal stepping parameters (10 out of 64 comparisons).
• However, significant associations were observed between postural steadiness metrics and COP velocity and frequency during the restabilization phase.
• These correlations were stronger for restabilization dynamics compared to initial stepping responses.

Conclusions:

• Quiet-stance balance control shows limited association with the initial dynamic stepping response but stronger links to the restabilization phase after a perturbation.
• Restabilization phase dynamics appear more closely related to underlying postural control than initial reactive stepping parameters.
• Further research into restabilization control may offer valuable insights into predicting fall risk in older adults.