The effect of vision impairment on dynamic balance

Relevance/Impact The control of human gait and the maintenance of balance depend upon the complex integration of visual, vestibular and somatosensory information. Dysfunction of any of these components can result in deficits in the body’s ability to maintain equilibrium of the centre of mass by counteracting the constant destabilising forces that challenge it. The role of vision in the control of balance is well documented. Vision can improve bipedal upright stability during standing and locomotion as part of the integrated sensory feedback system. Alternatively vision impairment has been demonstrated as reducing postural stability. Postural stability is traditionally evaluated by the motion associated with changes in Centre-of-Pressure (CoP) during quiet standing. CoP measures have been shown to high reliability and clinical relevance when assessing postural stability. However there are few studies that have assessed the effectiveness of these measures for dynamic stability.