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Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
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Slow dynamics of human balance control.

Kyle J Missen1,2, Mark G Carpenter1,2,3, Lorenz Assländer4

  • 1School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Scientific Reports
|July 29, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Humans use a slow, positive feedback mechanism involving foot and leg force cues to maintain balance during standing. This self-calibration helps reduce body sway at very low frequencies, improving stability on tilting surfaces.

Keywords:
Balance control modelPostural controlSelf-calibrationSensory integrationTorque feedback

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Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Human motor control
  • Sensory integration

Background:

  • Human sway behavior at low frequencies (<0.1 Hz) suggests a slow feedback component in balance control.
  • This may involve a self-calibration mechanism referencing kinematic and force sensory cues.
  • Previous studies were limited by short trial durations and small sample sizes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the properties of the mechanism reducing body sway at very low frequencies during upright standing.
  • To assess the influence of surface tilt duration on this balance control mechanism.
  • To test hypotheses regarding the role of force cues in balance control.

Main Methods:

  • Measured anteroposterior body sway in response to short- and long-duration surface tilts.
  • Interpreted sway responses using balance control models.
  • Fit four feedback control model variants to experimental data to identify slow dynamics mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Model variants incorporating force cues provided the best fit to experimental sway data, especially for long-duration tilts.
  • Results support the use of integrated foot and leg force afferents in a slow, positive feedback mechanism for upright standing.
  • This positive torque feedback mechanism is consistent with self-calibration principles.

Conclusions:

  • Humans employ a slow, positive feedback mechanism utilizing force sensory information from the feet and legs to maintain upright stance.
  • This mechanism contributes to reducing body sway at very low frequencies.
  • Despite long stimulus durations (~180s), precise estimation of some mechanism properties remains challenging.