Orthotic devices have been shown to successfully modify selected aspects of lower extremity mechanics and enhance foot stability during the support phase of running. It was hypothesized that orthotic intervention would relieve excessive strain on the ankle ligaments and reduce postural sway, especially in subjects with acute ankle sprains. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if o...

Introduction. Low serum vitamin D levels are associated with increased postural sway. Vitamin D varies seasonally. This study investigates whether postural sway varies seasonally and is associated with serum vitamin D and falls. Methods. In a longitudinal observational study, eighty-eight independently mobile community-dwelling older adults (69.7 ± 7.6 years) were evaluated on five occasions ov...

In this paper, a study on the role of force feedback for teleoperation of industrial overhead crane is presented. Teleoperation of industrial crane was described and analyzed. We proposed several types of force feedback signals which can reduce sway motion in industrial crane. First, force feedback signal was selected and designed based on dynamic model of the system. Then, we simplified force ...

BACKGROUND Falls amongst older people have been linked to reduced postural stability and slowed movement responses. The objective of this study was to examine differences in postural stability and the speed of response between young adults, low fall-risk older adults, and high fall-risk older adults during voluntary postural sway movements. METHODS Twenty-five young adults (25+/-4 years), and...

INTRODUCTION Many existing balance control models have adopted a single-segment inverted pendulum to model the human body, and have focused on investigating postural sway only in the sagittal plane (e.g. Maurer et al., 2005). However, evidence indicates that postural sway in the frontal plane is important, and able to account for different balance control mechanisms as well (e.g. McClenaghan et...

Light touch contact of a fingertip to a stationary surface provides orientation information that enhances control of upright stance. Slight changes in contact force at the fingertip lead to sensory cues about the direction of body sway, allowing attenuation of sway. In the present study, the coupling of postural sway to a moving contact surface was investigated in detail. Head, center of mass, ...

Previous research has shown that changes in spinal excitability occur during the postural sway of quiet standing. In the present study, it was of interest to examine the independent effects of sway position and sway direction on the efficacy of the triceps surae Ia pathway, as reflected by the Hoffman (H)-reflex amplitude, during standing. Eighteen participants, tested under two different exper...

To examine the age-related deterioration in postural control, we investigated the association between postural sway during quiet standing and either amplitude of physiological tremor or muscle volume of the plantar flexors in 20 young and 20 elderly adults. They maintained a quiet standing position on a force platform for 60s with their eyes open or closed. During quiet standing, physiological ...