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At least 1,171 records · Page 65Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Single blind randomized controlled trial of visual feedback after stroke: effects on stance symmetry and function.

A number of before and after and single case design studies of visual feedback have shown improvements in stance symmetry after stroke, an associated improvement in function has been demonstrated. This study examines this promising technique further using a single-blind controlled trial. Twenty-six patients were recruited from a register of consecutive admissions and randomized into treatment and control groups. Both groups received additional therapy, only the treatment group received visual feedback. Assessments were carried out independently. Significant improvements were seen in the treatment group in measures of stance symmetry and sway and motor and ADL function. Between group differences had disappeared at three months. The results indicate that feedback training incorporated into functional physiotherapy treatment can improve stance symmetry and sway. Transfer of training was indicated by improvements in ADL and gross motor function. Three months later the improvement was maintained, but did not automatically continue without treatment.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1978

Postural equilibrium in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Postural equilibrium has been quantified by stabilometry in 57 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis aged 10-16 years. Treatment was required in 39 cases whereof 18 were placed under observation only. The control group comprised 32 healthy children of the same age. An experimental design was made to vary the degree of difficulty of upright standing in four different test situations. The postural sway was analysed in the sagittal and lateral direction as well as in the area of total sway. The scoliotic patients had a significantly poorer postural control compared with the healthy children in all the tests. The difference was most pronounced in tests in which the proprioceptive functions were most important for maintaining the postural equilibrium. The left convex patients had quantitatively more pronounced reactions than the right convex patients. Patients with small curvatures, i.e., patients placed under observation only, had significantly increased postural sway compared with patients with more severe deformity. This fact, together with findings in patients with double primary curvatures, and the results of the study of brace effects, indirectly indicate the possibility of a postural disequilibrium as a contributory causative factor in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Vestibulospinal reflex activity in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Postural effects during caloric labyrinthine stimulation recorded by stabilometry.

Postural sway has been quantified with stabilometry during caloric labyrinthine stimulation in an erect posture in 49 patients, aged 10--16 years, with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Thirty-two healthy children of the same age constituted a control group. The scoliotic patients tended to have an increased postural sway during labyrinthine stimulation on the convex side compared to the effects on the concave side. Significant differences were observed when left and right scoliotic patients were compared with the controls. The results can be explained by an asymmetric sensitivity in the labyrinth or by a dysfunction in the postural control mechanisms at the brain stem level.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Postural control in scoliosis. A statokinesimetric study in patients with scoliosis due to neuromuscular disorders and in patients with idiopathic scoliosis.

Statokinesimetric characteristics were analysed in patients with scoliosis which had developed in the course of degenerative neuromuscular disorders and in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Patients with Duchenne and limb- girdle muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy showed markedly decreased oscillations of the body's centre of gravity, in addition to a forward shift of its mean position. Thus the postural equilibrium in neuromuscular patients with scoliosis is even more efficiently controlled than normal. On the other hand, patients with idiopathic scoliosis did not show any significant changes as compared with normal subjects. The present study therefore does not support the suggestion that the pathogenesis of scoliosis, at least in neuromuscular patients, is triggered by an impairment of descending postural control.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

[Relationship between lifestyle activities and physical functions in elderly persons utilizing care facilities].

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between outdoor-activity areas and physical functions such as muscle strength, postural balance, gait function, and to identify the physical functions related to accomplishment of outdoor activity in elderly persons utilizing outpatient rehabilitation facilities. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship among physical, social and intellectual activities and physical functions. The subjects were 265 elderly persons (average age: 80.3 +/- 7.0). They were classified into the indoor-activity group, neighborhood outdoor-activity group and long-distance outdoor-activity group, and functional differences among the three groups were examined. The Barthel index, one-leg standing time, timed up-and-go test and performance-oriented mobility assessment were significantly different among the three groups. These results suggested that physical functions have a close relationship with extension of the activity area. Based on 95% confidence intervals, elderly subjects with more than 95 points on the Barthel index seemed able to do neighborhood outdoor activities. Those who can finish timed up-and-go test in less than 18 seconds, and obtain 26 points in performance-oriented mobility assessment may be able to do long-distance outdoor-activities using a bus. Furthermore, it was found that physical function was largely affected by physical activity such as exercise habituation and house keeping. In conclusion the difference of the activity area as well as extended activities of ADL influenced the physical function, which was critical to prevent functional decline in elderly persons.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

[The relationship between visual perception and postural control in falls of the elderly living in local communities].

We have examined the relationship between visual sense information, such as perception data and postural control, and falls among elderly people aged 65 years or over living in Nishibiwajima-cho, Aichi Prefecture. Of 286 participants, 204 were enrolled and analyzed, after excluding those with a visual acuity of less than 0.3, or the activities of daily living (ADL) index of less than 11. In the analysis group, 52 people (25.2%) had already had experience of falls. Two-way analysis of variance showed that intensity of dynamic visual stimulation and the presence or absence of falls had a significant effect on body sway, although no interaction was observed. These results indicate that body sway is increased in those who have experience of falls, and that strong visual stimulation is associated with body sway. This suggests that greater dynamic visual stimulation is likely to increase the risk of falls.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2001

Treatment window for hypothermia in brain injury.

OBJECT: The goal of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic window for hypothermia treatment following experimental brain injury by measuring edema formation and functional outcome. METHODS: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) was produced in anesthetized rats by using cortical impact injury. Edema was measured in the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres by subtracting dry weight from wet weight, and neurological function was assessed using a battery of behavioral tests 24 hours after TBI. In injured rats, it was found that brain water levels were elevated at I hour postinjury, compared with those in sham-injured control animals, and that edema peaked at 24 hours and remained elevated for 4 days. Hypothermia (3 hours at 30 degrees C) induced either immediately after TBI or 60 minutes after TBI significantly reduced early neurological deficits. Delay of treatment by 90 or 120 minutes postinjury did not result in this neurological protection. Immediate administration of hypothermia also significantly decreased the peak magnitude of edema at 24 hours and 48 hours postinjury, compared with that in normothermic injured control animals. When delayed by 90 minutes, hypothermia did not affect the pattern of edema formation. CONCLUSIONS: When hypothermia was administered immediately or 60 minutes after TBI, injured rats showed an improvement in functional outcome and a decrease in edema. Delayed hypothermia treatment had no effect on functional outcome or on edema.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Form and variability during sit-to-stand transitions: children versus adults.

In performing the sit-to-stand transition, young children (6- to 7-year-olds) were expected to display a movement form similar to that of adults. However, movement consistency was predicted to be poorer in children than in adults because they lack refinement of motor control processes. Kinematic analysis of 10 repetitions of the sit-to-stand movement was carried out for 6 typically developing children and 6 adults. Supporting the authors' prediction of comparable form, no differences were evident between age groups for sequence of joint onsets, proportional duration of segmental motion, or in angle-angle plots of displacement at 2 segments. In contrast, within-participant variability was found to be higher for children: Coefficients of variation for most kinematic measures were twice those seen for adults. The authors interpret the children's lack of movement consistency as a reflection of inadequate stabilization of an internal model of intersegmental dynamics. Whereas adults have attained a skill level associated with refinement of that model, children have not. Children have an additional control problem because changes in body morphology throughout childhood require ongoing updating of the internal model that controls intrinsic dynamics.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Reciprocal influences of attentional focus on postural and suprapostural task performance.

The authors examined the influence that attentional focus on either a postural or a suprapostural task had on the performance of each task. Participants (N = 32) stood on an inflated rubber disk and held a pole horizontally. All participants performed under 4 attentional focus conditions: external (disk) or internal (feet) focus on the postural task, and external (pole) or internal (hands) focus on the suprapostural task. Compared with internal focuses, external focuses on either task resulted in similar and reduced postural sway. Response frequency on each task increased when participants focused on the respective task. Finally, an external focus on either task produced higher frequencies of responding on the suprapostural task. The authors conclude that suprapostural task goals have a stronger influence on postural control than vice versa, reflecting the propensity of the motor system to optimize control processes on the basis of the desired movement effect.

Attention↗
PubMed2006

Human postural response to lower leg muscle vibration of different duration.

Body lean response to bilateral vibrations of soleus muscles were investigated in order to understand the influence of proprioceptive input from lower leg in human stance control. Proprioceptive stimulation was applied to 17 healthy subjects by two vibrators placed on the soleus muscles. Frequency and amplitude of vibration were 60 Hz and 1 mm, respectively. Vibration was applied after a 30 s of baseline. The vibration duration of 10, 20, 30 s respectively was used with following 30 s rest. Subjects stood on the force platform with eyes closed. Postural responses were characterized by center of pressure (CoP) displacements in the anterior-posterior (AP) direction. The CoP-AP shifts as well as their amplitudes and velocities were analyzed before, during and after vibration. Vibration of soleus muscles gradually increased backward body tilts. There was a clear dependence of the magnitude of final CoP shift on the duration of vibration. The amplitude and velocity of body sway increased during vibration and amplitude was significantly modulated by duration of vibration as well. Comparison of amplitude and velocity of body sway before and after vibration showed significant post-effects. Presented findings showed that somatosensory stimulation has a long-term, direction-specific influence on the control of postural orientation during stance. Further, the proprioceptive input altered by soleus muscles vibration showed significant changes in postural equilibrium during period of vibration with interesting post-effects also.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Postural equilibrium: functional system and its stabilization by means of osteoreflexotherapy.

Our investigations have confirmed that the osteoreceptive sensory system participates in the polysensoric regulation of animal and human posture. Experiments with animals have demonstrated that the irritation of osteoreceptors by electric pulses leads to osteoreceptive response potentials of the same parts of the brain (Deiter's nuclei, cerebellum, caudate nucleus, cortical motor centre etc.) which participate in the regulation of animal and human posture and other motion acts. Close functional relations have been established between the skin, bone, vestibular and muscle sensory systems in the brain structures where the osteoreceptive excitation converges. The studies of osteoreceptive sensory system have served as a theoretical base for new techniques of posture stabilization. These are based on osteoreceptive irritations caused by electrical pulses or by intraosseal pressure increase at injections of the physiological solution. It has been found that each bone has its own specific role in posture regulation. In all cases of bone irritation the posture stabilization of various degrees has been confirmed. However, it has been demonstrated that the most effective results have been obtained by affecting the processus spinosus of seventh cervical vertebra and the lower extermity bones, especially those of tibiae and calcaneus.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

[Time constant of forward body sway induced by downward optokinetic stimulus].

Forward body sway induced by a downward optokinetic stimulus (OKS) was observed in 38 healthy subjects. The downward OKS was generated by a moving random dot pattern projected onto a half-pipe screen 2 m in diameter and was provided by a rectangular-like step function with velocities of 10, 20, 30 and 40 deg/sec. A fixation target was set by a red laser spot projected onto the screen in front of the subjects. As an additional stimulatory condition, 20 deg/sec of OKS with no fixation target was employed. The induced forward body sway was measured by a force-detecting platform as displacement of the center of gravity (COG). The gradual forward shift of COG followed by the plateau state was closely akin to a graphical representation of an equation of the first order lag time. As OKS velocities increased, the plateau level increased. Curve fitting analysis using a computer was employed to establish an approximation equation of the first order lag time. This analysis showed that the time constant of the optokinetic spinal response system was approximately 15 sec and the value of the time constant was independent of OKS velocity. Based on this long time constant, we concluded that the postural readjustment induced by OKS mainly plays a role in the low frequency range of human postural control.

Eye Movements↗
PubMed1996

Haptic cues for orientation and postural control in sighted and blind individuals.

Haptic cues from fingertip contact with a stable surface attenuate body sway in subjects even when the contact forces are too small to provide physical support of the body. We investigated how haptic cues derived from contact of a cane with a stationary surface at low force levels aids postural control in sighted and congenitally blind individuals. Five sighted (eyes closed) and five congenitally blind subjects maintained a tandem Romberg stance in five conditions: (1) no cane; (2,3) touch contact (< 2 N of applied force) while holding the cane in a vertical or slanted orientation; and (4,5) force contact (as much force as desired) in the vertical and slanted orientations. Touch contact of a cane at force levels below those necessary to provide significant physical stabilization was as effective as force contact in reducing postural sway in all subjects, compared to the no-cane condition. A slanted cane was far more effective in reducing postural sway than was a perpendicular cane. Cane use also decreased head displacement of sighted subjects far more than that of blind subjects. These results suggest that head movement control is linked to postural control through gaze stabilization reflexes in sighted subjects; such reflexes are absent in congenitally blind individuals and may account for their higher levels of head displacement.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Some visual influences on human postural equilibrium: binocular versus monocular fixation.

The importance of vision for postural equilibrium has long been known; traditionally, this visual contribution to the control of posture has been analyzed primarily in terms of optical and retinal phenomena. Recently, however, there has been some suggestion that binocular and monocular fixation of identical stimuli have differential effects. Three experiments were conducted in order to measure self-generated movement (sway during quiet standing) of the body's center of gravity while field structure, ankle proprioception, and binocular/monocular fixation were varied. Field structure was varied from total darkness, to the presence of single and multiple LEDs in the dark, to full field structure (i.e., the richness of the feed back information was varied). Ankle proprioception was varied by changing foot position from side-by-side to heel-to-toe positions. Results indicate that (1) ankle-joint input is a significant factor in reducing sway, (2) binocular fixation attenuates sway relative to monocular fixation, under otherwise identical visual conditions, and (3) this difference persists in total darkness. Taken together, the data indicate that the visual influence on postural equilibrium results from a complex synergy that receives multimodal inputs. A simple optical/retinal explanation is not sufficient.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

[Influence of proprioceptive input from leg, thigh, trunk and neck muscles on the equilibrium of standing].

To investigate and compare the roles of proprioceptive input from the leg, thigh, trunk and neck muscles on equilibrium, we performed static posturography in 50 normal subjects in the standing position on a force platform by applying vibratory stimulations to the muscles. The length of the displacement of the center of gravity, maximum sway length and sway area were measured. The amplitude of the body sway was maximum when the stimulation was applied to the dorsal neck. The forward shift of the center of gravity was also marked by stimulation applied to the dorsal neck. The amplitude of the body sway on stimulation of the leg muscles was also marked, although less than that of dorsal neck stimulation. The backward shift during stimulation of the gastrocnemius and the forward shift during stimulation of the anterior tibialis were remarkable. The results indicate that the leg muscles, which directly regulate the movement of the ankle joint, and the dorsal neck muscles, which change the static equilibrium through the central nervous system, are important for maintaining the standing posture.

Adult↗