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PubMed2001

Modeling the postural disturbances caused by upper extremity movements.

This paper describes the design, validation, and application of a dynamic, three-dimensional (3-D) model of the upper extremity for the purpose of estimating postural disturbances generated by movements of the arms. The model consists of two links representing the upper and lower arms, with the shoulder and elbow modeled as gimbal joints to allow three rotational degrees of freedom. With individualized segment inertial parameters based on anthropometric measurements, the model performs inverse dynamic analysis of recorded arm movements to calculate reaction forces and moments acting on the body at the shoulder in three dimensions. The method was validated by comparing the output of the model to estimates obtained from ground reaction loads during stereotypical and free form unilateral movements at various velocities and with different loads carried by human subjects while seated on biomechanical force platforms. The correlation between predicted and measured reaction forces and moments was very good under all conditions and across all subjects, with average rms errors less than 8% of measured peak-to-peak values. The model was then applied to bimanual activities representative of functional movements that would typically be performed while standing at a counter. The resulting estimates were consistent and adequate for the purpose of evaluating postural disturbances caused by upper extremity movements.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Effect of forward lean on postural ankle dynamics.

Previous studies investigating postural control using platform perturbations demonstrated that forward leaning occurs under certain experimental conditions. This study examined a potential benefit of forward leaning, investigating the hypothesis that forward lean acts to increase the effective stiffness of the postural ankle dynamics. A systems modeling approach was used to evaluate the effect of forward lean (4 degrees ankle flexion beyond normal stance) on dynamic postural responses to continuous random antero-posterior platform acceleration in four healthy young adults. Motion was limited to the ankle joint using a restraint device and responses were characterized in terms of center-of-pressure displacement. Also, EMG and kinematic data were used to partition measured ankle torque into impedance and activation (postural "reflex") components. The results failed to show a consistent effect, due to lean, on the ankle dynamics. A significant increase in phasic ankle torque due to increased muscle impedance during forward lean was counterbalanced by a comparable decrease in net "reflex" ankle torque. The change in "reflex" torque was apparently due to decreased phasic dorsiflexor activity in forward lean, since phasic plantarflexor activity did not change significantly. Functionally, the results suggest that forward lean occurs for reasons other than stiffening of the overall postural ankle dynamics.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Time-varying characteristics of visually induced postural sway.

To study potential time-varying dynamics of postural sway as measured via center-of-pressure (COP) under the feet, we applied time-frequency analysis to COP data from ten vestibularly impaired subjects and 13 nonimpaired controls, during quiet stance and in response to visual perturbation. This analysis revealed that 1) the spectral characteristics of COP change over time; 2) there are time-dependent and frequency-dependent differences in COP between impaired and nonimpaired populations during visual perturbation, and 3) there is no difference in COP during quiet stance (eyes opne) between impaired and nonimpaired populations for the parameters investigated. A novel finding of this research is that controls appear to adapt to constant frequency visual perturbation, while vestibularly impaired subjects do not. This difference could not have been observed with conventional Fourier analysis, which is commonly used in COP data analysis, because time is not a parameter of the spectrum and adaptation is, by nature, a time-varying process. These results suggest that time-frequency analysis of COP data is useful for studying temporal dynamics of postural control, and in particular the differences between vestibularly impaired subjects and healthy controls during visual perturbation.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Control of stance during lateral and anterior/posterior surface translations.

The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast postural responses to lateral and A/P surface translations by quantifying joint positions, bilateral three-dimensional (3-D) ground reaction forces, and lower limb and trunk muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity. Subjects stood on a movable platform which was randomly translated in four different directions. The kinematic patterns in response to lateral and anterior/posterior (A/P) surface translations were similar in that there was a sequential displacement and reversal of the shank/thigh and then trunk segments. While the body center of mass (CoM) was displaced equally in response to lateral and A/P translations, equilibrium was maintained by redistributing the vertical forces and changing the shear forces exerted against the support surface. These force responses were bilaterally symmetrical for A/P translations but not for lateral translations. With respect to EMG activity, the first muscle activated was the proximal tensor fascia latae for lateral translations whereas the distal muscles were recruited first for A/P translations. Results from this study suggest that control of postural equilibrium may be similar for A/P and lateral translations, although specific differences in patterns may reflect various biomechanical constraints of the trunk and the lower extremities associated with the two planes of movement.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The control of foot placement during compensatory stepping reactions: does speed of response take precedence over stability?

Rapid, reflex-like stepping movements are a prevalent and functional compensatory reaction to destabilization, however, little is known about the underlying control. In this paper, a model is developed to examine how speed and stability demands affect control of foot placement during forward and backward compensatory stepping reactions. The concept of the velocity stability margin (VSM) is introduced to characterize the degree to which the horizontal velocity of the falling body approaches biomechanical limits on the capacity to decelerate the center of mass; analogous limits on center-of-mass displacement are quantified in terms of the displacement stability margin (DSM). The model is used to predict, for any initial step characteristics, the variation in DSM and VSM that would occur as a function of changes in timing of foot placement. The VSM was found to prevail over the DSM in establishing limits of stability. Model simulations demonstrated that there typically exists a minimum swing duration that maximizes speed of response while meeting minimum requirements for stability (VSM > or = 0), as well as a slower speed of response (longer swing duration) at which stability (VSM) is maximized. Experimental data from platform-perturbation tests in 20 healthy young (22-28) and older (65-81) adults were used, in conjunction with the model, to investigate whether speed or stability takes precedence during natural behavior. Control of single-step reactions appeared to favor stability; although the model predicted that a minimally stable step (VSM = 0) could be attained by swing durations as short as 30 ms, the observed swing durations were, on average, 135 ms longer than this, and the average VSM was nearly as large (80%) as the optimally stable value predicted by the model. Control of the initial step of multiple-step reactions was distinctly different. The average swing duration was only 55 ms greater than the minimally stable value and the average VSM was 81% smaller than in the single-step reactions. This reduction in VSM is consistent with a need to execute additional steps and appears to support the validity of the model. This model may help to provide insight into the biomechanical factors that govern the neural control of compensatory stepping reactions.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Postural control adaptation during galvanic vestibular and vibratory proprioceptive stimulation.

The objective for this study was to investigate whether the adaptation of postural control was similar during galvanic vestibular stimulation and during vibratory proprioceptive stimulation of the calf muscles. Healthy subjects were tested during erect stance with eyes open or closed. An analysis method designed to consider the adaptive adjustments was used to evaluate the motion dynamics and the evoked changes of posture and stimulation response. Galvanic vestibular stimulation induced primarily lateral body movements and vibratory proprioceptive stimulation induced anteroposterior movements. The lateral body sway generated by the galvanic stimulation was proportionally smaller and contained more high-frequency movements (> 0.1 Hz) than the anteroposterior body sway induced by the vibratory stimulation. The adaptive adjustments of the body sway to the stimulation had similar time course and magnitude during galvanic and vibratory stimulation. The perturbations induced by stimulation were gradually reduced within the same time range (15-20 s) and both kinds of stimulation induced a body leaning whose direction was dependent on stimulus. The similarities in the adjustment patterns suggest that postural control operates in the same way independent of the receptor systems affected by the disturbance and irrespective of whether the motion responses were induced in a lateral or anteroposterior direction.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2004

Unsupported standing with minimized ankle muscle fatigue.

In the past, limited unsupported standing has been restored in patients with thoracic spinal cord injury through open-loop functional electrical stimulation of paralyzed knee extensor muscles and the support of intact arm musculature. Here an optimal control system for paralyzed ankle muscles was designed that enables the subject to stand without hand support in a sagittal plane. The paraplegic subject was conceptualized as an underactuated double inverted pendulum structure with an active degree of freedom in the upper trunk and a passive degree of freedom in the paralyzed ankle joints. Control system design is based on the minimization of a cost function that estimates the effort of ankle joint muscles via observation of the ground reaction force position, relative to ankle joint axis. Furthermore, such a control system integrates voluntary upper trunk activity and artificial control of ankle joint muscles, resulting in a robust standing posture. Figures are shown for the initial simulation study, followed by disturbance tests on an intact volunteer and several laboratory trials with a paraplegic person. Benefits of the presented methodology are prolonged standing sessions and in the fact that the subject is able to maintain voluntary control over upper body orientation in space, enabling simple functional standing.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

Application of cross time-frequency analysis to postural sway behavior: the effects of aging and visual systems.

In this paper, the effects of visual feedback and aging on postural sway systems and signals are investigated by analyzing the transient phase difference between "input" and "output" which correspond to center of pressure (COP) and center of mass (COM), respectively. In order to analyze the transient phase difference characteristics of COP and COM, a relatively new cross time-frequency analysis technique that provides time- and frequency-localized phase difference information is utilized. The feedback control process in the postural sway is interpreted in terms of a feedback compensator which is characterized in terms of a phase difference. Using the experimental results of the transient phase difference obtained from the cross time-frequency distribution, it is demonstrated that the postural control of young persons are more stable and rely more on visual sensory feedback to stabilize postural control compared to that of the elderly persons.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2001

Kinematic modeling for the assessment of wheelchair user's stability.

A computer kinematic model was developed to simulate the lateral and transverse stabilities of wheelchair users in order to compare the effect of different backrests. This model is composed of ellipsoids and parallelepipeds representing the main components of the human body, the seating devices and the wheelchair. A fifteen-segment three-dimensional (3-D) model linked by spherical and revolute joints was created using the ADAMS software (Mechanical Dynamics, Inc.). Torsional springs and dampers are used at the joints to represent four sets of articulation stiffness. Seating devices are represented with 45 rectangular surface patches. The interface between human body and seating devices is modeled by contact elements, which included the specification of stiffness, damping, and deformation of cushions and buttocks. Simulations of a user and his wheelchair moving at 1.4 m/s on a tilted pathway were performed. Different indexes [trunk lateral tilt (TLT) and trunk transverse rotation (TTR)] were measured and compared to those of a similar experimental study on four subjects. The effect of joint stiffness was quantified and a sensitivity study showed the importance of the hip, neck, lumbar, and thoracic joint stiffness on model response (between 16% and 68%). Two backrests (standard and highly contoured) were tested with the kinematic model and their stability compared. Overall, the coherence between the simulations and the experiments shows that this approach is appropriate to compare various seating devices (maximal difference of 1.3 degrees between the simulated and experimental curves for the intermediate joint stiffness sets). The smallest rotations of the highly contoured backrest (6.3 degrees versus 8.9 degrees for TLT and 3.9 degrees versus 6.7 degrees for TTR) suggest that the contouring of the mid torso is more efficient than the lower torso to provide stability to the wheelchair user. This model is an adequate tool to test and improve the design of seating aids.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗