The Case Western Reserve University/Department of Veterans Affairs 8-channel lower-limb neuroprosthesis can restore standing to selected individuals with paraplegia by application of functional electrical stimulation. The second generation of this system will include 16 channels of stimulation and a closed-loop control scheme to provide automatic postural corrections. This study used a musculos...

We performed a whole-body mapping study of the effect of unilateral muscle vibration, eliciting spindle Ia firing, on the control of standing and walking in humans. During quiet stance, vibration applied to various muscles of the trunk-neck system and of the lower limb elicited a significant tilt in whole body postural orientation. The direction of vibration-induced postural tilt was consistent...

The main task of orthoses in neurological diseases is stabilization, correction and improvement gait function. Orthoses actively support the work muscles by proper alignment individual body segments relation to each other facilitate performance planned During upright standing, orthosis keep upper ankle a fixed, intermediate position, usually at an angle 90°. This increases base provided feet fl...

PURPOSE This study aimed to evaluate the effects of prosthetic foot types on the postural stability among transtibial amputees when standing on different support surfaces. MATERIALS AND METHODS The postural stability of 10 transtibial amputees wearing solid ankle cushion heel (SACH) foot, single-axis (SA) foot, and energy-saving and return (ESAR) foot was assessed. Results were compared with ...

BACKGROUND Falls are common among hospital inpatients, particularly in rehabilitation wards. Standing balance impairment is widely held to be a contributing factor to falls, is a component of several falls risk screening tools, and has motivated the development of balance retraining programs for the reduction of in-hospital falls. Little rigorous investigation of the link between standing balan...

BACKGROUND Amputation impairs the ability to balance. We examined adaptation strategies in balance following dysvascularity-induced unilateral tibial amputation in skilled prosthetic users (SPU) and first fitted amputees (FFA) (N = 28). METHODS Excursions of center of pressure (COP) were determined during 20 s quiet standing using a stabilometry system with eyes-open on both legs or on the no...

Patients with bilateral vestibular failure (BVF) suffer from postural and gait unsteadiness with an increased risk of falls. The aim of this study was to elucidate the differential role of otolith, semicircular canal (SSC), visual, proprioceptive, and cognitive influences on the postural stability of BVF patients. Center-of-pressure displacements were recorded by posturography under six conditi...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of an augmented LowDye taping technique on the medial longitudinal arch of the foot during dynamic tasks such as walking and jogging, and to elucidate the relation between tape induced changes in static and dynamic foot posture. METHODS Seventeen subjects (mean (SD) age 27 (5.8) years) who were asymptomatic and exhibited a navicular drop greater than 10 mm...

Evaluation of postural control is generally based on the interpretation of the center of pressure (COP) and the center of mass (COM) time series. The purpose of this study is to compare three methods to estimate the COM which are based on different biomechanical considerations. These methods are: (1) the kinematic method; (2) the zero-point-to-zero-point double integration technique (GLP) and (...

The aim of the study was to evaluate intra- and intersession test-retest reliability for the measurements of centre of pressure displacement in quiet standing and during maximal voluntary body leaning (approximate area of stability limits). 27 elderly men participated in the study (71.4±4.9 of age). Intrasession (4 measurements with two-minute breaks) and intersession (4 measurements one week a...