Citation

McCrum C, Eysel-Gosepath K, Epro G, Meijer K, Savelberg HH, Brüggemann GP, Karamanidis K. J. Appl. Biomech. 2016; 33(2): 112-117.

Affiliation

Institute of Movement and Sport Gerontology, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Human Kinetics Publishers)

DOI

10.1123/jab.2016-0004

PMID

27735223

Abstract

Posturography is used to assess balance in clinical settings, but its relationship to gait stability is unclear. We assessed if dynamic gait stability is associated with standing balance in 12 patients with unilateral vestibulopathy. Participants were unexpectedly tripped during treadmill walking and the change in the margin of stability (MoSchange) and base of support (BoSchange) relative to non-perturbed walking was calculated for the perturbed and first recovery steps. The centre of pressure (COP) path during 30s stance with eyes open and closed, and the distance between the most anterior point of the COP and the anterior BoS boundary during forward leaning (ADist) were assessed using a force plate. Pearson correlations were conducted between the static and dynamic variables. The perturbation caused a large decrease in the BoS, leading to a decrease in MoS. One of 12 correlations was significant (MoSchange at the perturbed step and ADist; r = -.595, P =.041; non-significant correlations:.068 ≤ P ≤.995). The results suggest that different control mechanisms may be involved in stance and gait stability, as a consistent relationship was not found. Therefore, posturography may be of limited use in predicting stability in dynamic situations.

Language: en