Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Postural Balance”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The relationship between anthropometric factors and body-balancing movements in postural balance.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between anthropometric characteristics and body-balancing movements when standing on 2 legs with eyes open and eyes closed. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: A university physiatry laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred randomly selected subjects (50 men, 50 women; age range, 31-80y). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Anthropomorphic: body height, weight, lower-extremity distances, foot lengths, and widest widths of the forefeet and heels. Body movements: 2-legged stance with eyes open and eyes closed, measured with the MacReflex Motion Capture System and calculated as maximal and total movements in 3 dimensions. The relation between the measured anthropometric characteristics and body-balancing movements was calculated by using regression analysis. RESULTS: In the eyes-open condition, maximal lateral knee movement was related to body height and foot length (R(2)=.065, P<.05). Both anteroposterior (AP) head movement (R(2)=.068, P<.05) and AP navel movement (R(2)=.083, P<.05) were related to heel width. AP knee movement was related to foot length and heel width (R(2)=.089, P<.05). Body mass index was related to AP ankle movement (R(2)=.074, P<.05) and to vertical ankle movement (R(2)=.063, P<.05). In the eyes-closed condition, body mass index was related to the vertical navel movement (R(2)=.059, P<.05) and body height to AP knee movement (R(2)=.041, P<.05). CONCLUSION: The levels of significance are not high but warrant attention. It seems that there was no single anthropometric factor that explained the variations in body-balancing movements during standing.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Influence of a typical "posture-balance-motivity" motor practice on the postural capacities of elderly subjects].

OBJECTIVE: The object of this work was to observe the influence of the "Posture-Balance-Motivity" (PBM) activity on the total motivity in older adults. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: After 12 weeks of practice, to observe the effects on the control of static postural sway by the intermediary of a force platform of 15 subjects (mean age 75.5, SD = 6.6). RESULTS: Scores on "Posture", "Balance" and "Motivity" show respectively and significantly improvements. All scores of a clinical balance assessment scale, the POMA, have also improved. On the platform, parameters of spontaneous postural sway in the lateral (X) and antero-posterior (Y) axis have been evaluated with eyes open, eyes closed, on firm floor and foam floor condition. Values on the lateral axis did not show any significant decrease. But values on the antero-posterior axis showed a significant decrease for all modalities translating a better postural stability in this plan. CONCLUSION: These first results show the advantages of a typical "PBM" activity.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2005

Dynamic postural balance in ankylosing spondylitis patients.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, our objectives were to investigate whether patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have a poorer dynamic balance than normal subjects, and to study the relationship between balance and posture. METHODS: Seventy patients (57 men, 13 women) with AS and 35 (31 men, 4 women) controls matched for age, weight, height and body mass index were tested using the Biodex Stability System. Anteroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML) and overall (OA) indices were obtained with bilateral stance at platform stabilities of 8 and 4. Subjects were tested with 'eyes open' at all times. Correlation analyses were performed between stability indices (OA, AP, ML) and disease duration, cervical rotation (CR), tragus to wall distance (TWD), lumbar side flexion (LSF), lumbar flexion (LF), intermalleolar distance (IMD) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI) total score. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between the AS patients and healthy subjects with respect to all three stability indices at levels 4 and 8. A positive correlation was found only between ML stability index and TWD at level 8 (r, 0.249; P = 0.038). No other positive correlation was detected between stability indices and CR, TWD, LSF, LF, IMD, total BASMI score and disease duration. CONCLUSIONS: AS has no negative effect on postural stability. The only clinically significant association was found between dynamic postural balance and TWD.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Lead effects on postural balance of children.

The postural sway responses of 63 children with a mean age of 5.74 years were quantified with a Force Platform technique. The average maximum (max) blood lead (PbB) of these children during the first 5 years of life was 20.7 micrograms/dL (range 9.2 to 32.5). The backward stepwise regression analysis for sway area response during the eyes-closed, no-foam test with all the covariates and confounders and the PbB parameters showed a significant relationship with peak or max PbB during the second year of life. These results are consistent with our previous study with a smaller group of children. The data have been analyzed to provide some insight into the role of various afferent for the maintenance of postural balance. The results suggests a hypothesis that if the max PbB had caused some level of impairment in the functional capacities or interconnectivity of the vestibular and/or proprioception systems at 2 years of age, then it is reasonable to assume that the redundancy in the postural afferent systems would naturally adapt to rely more on the remaining intact afferent system (in this case, vision).

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed2006

Effect of early lead exposure on the maturation of children's postural balance: a longitudinal study.

This prospective study investigated the impact of early exposure to lead on the maturation of children's postural balance. The effect of lead exposure on age-associated maturation of postural balance was investigated on 91 children from the Cincinnati Lead Study (CLS) with a 5-year geometric mean lead concentration in blood of 11.66 microg/dL (range 3.89-28.33 microg/dL) by re-assessing their postural balance approximately every 20 months starting at mean age of 6.6 years through mean age of 12.1 years. The results presented in this paper provide evidence that low to moderate lead exposure in early childhood has a measurable and statistically significant impact on the maturation of postural balance. In comparison to less exposed children, of those in the higher lead group showed an impaired postural balance response. The results from this study suggest that children with early childhood lead exposure may need additional time to approach (or "catch up" with) their maturational postural balance status. As these subjects are now adults in their early to mid-twenties, poor postural balance may impact their daily living tasks and pose a higher risk of potential injuries at home and work.

Aging↗
PubMed2003

[Quantified research of measuring postural balance by posturography using inclinometer technique].

OBJECTIVE: To gain the normal values of posturography using inclinometer technique in people, to gain the normal values of posturography using inclinometer technique in people. METHOD: The messages of postural average sway angular velocity (omega) obtained by posturography using inclinometer technique in four various conditions were measured in 167 normal subjects who were grouped by age. RESULT: The normal omega values show that there is no correlation between postural balance with gender, but postural balance is related with age. The postural stability is at its best at the age of 20 to 60 years. The direction of postural sway has a large inter-individual variability, but no significant inclined direction is found. CONCLUSION: The results of individual tests should be compared with match-aged normative data in order to determine abnormal postural balance function. We measured many subjects and grouped by ages in detail. Therefore, the result can be taken as normative data of the measuring system. The omega value of standing on global-ottomed platform with eye closed could distinguish abnormal balance function of vestibo-spinal system accurately.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Better postural balance in elderly women receiving estrogens.

OBJECTIVE: The amount of bone mass and the tendency to fall are main risk factors for hip fractures and both deteriorate with advancing age. The dynamics between estrogen exposure and fracture protection seem too rapid to be explained by an effect on bone mass only. Postural balance function may be another potential mechanism for the fracture-protecting effect of estrogens. STUDY DESIGN: We examined 16 long-term users of 17 beta-estradiol implants (20 mg) (mean age 67.9 years and mean duration of treatment 17.3 years [3.3 to 34 years]) and 16 age-matched (+/-2 years) nonusers (mean age 68.3 years). Postural balance (sway velocity) was measured by static posturography before and after blindfolding and application of vibration stimulus (20 to 100 Hz) to the calf muscles to disturb the proprioception and to induce imbalance. RESULTS: Sway velocities were significantly lower in estrogen users than in nonusers (p = 0.0067) and similar to those in young premenopausal women. The differences were accentuated after provocation by blindfolding and by increasing frequencies of vibration stimulus to the calf muscle. Serum levels of estradiol and estradiol/sex hormone-binding globulin were negatively and follicle-stimulating hormone levels positively associated with sway velocity (p = 0.0194, p = 0.0036, and p = 0.0052, respectively) and independent of age (p = 0.02 to 0.005), supporting causality between estrogen exposure and postural balance. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that postural balance function is better preserved in long-term estrogen users than in nonusers. Effects on postural balance function may be one mechanism explaining the rapid increase in distal forearm fractures early after menopause and the rapid dynamics between estrogen exposure and hip fracture protection and may potentially reduce the fracture risk in elderly women starting estrogen replacement therapy in spite of marginal increases in bone mass.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Effect of early lead exposure on children's postural balance.

This study investigated the effect of chronic exposure to lead on children's ability to maintain upright postural balance as a biological marker of lead-induced modifications of the neuromotor system. For this study, 162 six-year-old children, with a five-year geometric mean lead concentration in blood of 11.9 micrograms/dL (range 4.0-28.0 micrograms/dL), were tested for postural balance with a microprocessor-based force platform system. An increase in blood lead was significantly associated with an increase in the variable postural sway--implying poorer postural balance. This association was not influenced by socio-economic, racial or environmental factors. This simple, objective and quick technique may be useful for assessing gross motor functions in children who are at or below the United States Centers for Disease Control's class III category and/or for monitoring the effectiveness of medical interventions aimed at reversing lead-associated impairment of upright postural balance.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Evaluation of dynamic postural balance using the Biodex Stability System in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate dynamic postural balance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in relation to the disease characteristics. Seventy-four patients with RA and 42 controls of the same age group were tested using the Biodex Stability System (Biodex Medical Systems, Shirley, NY, USA). Anterior/posterior (AP), medial/lateral (ML), and overall (OA) indices were obtained with bilateral stance at platform stabilities of 2 and 8. Subjects were tested with "eyes open" at all times. At the same time, Disease Activity Score, functional disability [Health Assessment Questionnaire, (HAQ)], and Steinbrocker Functional Class (SFC) were assessed. Both the AP and OA indices in the RA group were significantly higher than in the control group for level 8. For OA index, the results were 2.7+/-0.9 in RA and 2.2+/-0.7 in the control group (p=0.006), and for AP index, the results were 2.1+/-0.7 in RA and 1.7+/-0.6 in the control group (p=0.002). Eleven patients (15.9%) and three controls (7.1%) could not complete the test at level 2. When the patients and controls who completed the test were compared, a significant difference was found only in the ML index. The results were 4.6+/-2.4 in RA and 3.8+/-1.6 in the control group (p=0.047). A positive correlation between HAQ and postural balance for all three stability indices at level 8 was detected. A positive correlation between SFC and postural balance for OA and ML at level 8 was also found. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed age and body mass index (BMI) to be the most important factors influencing postural dynamic balance at both levels in the RA group and in healthy controls. RA has a negative effect on dynamic postural stability. The functional status affects dynamic balance more than disease activity. Age and BMI were the most important factors influencing postural dynamic balance in the RA group and in healthy controls. Level 2 does not appear to be an appropriate level for evaluating postural stability in RA.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[With maintaining equilibrium: experimental study of the limits of acceleration which the human body can endure without losing postural balance].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the limits of acceleration to which a human organism can be exposed without loss of postural balance. DESIGN: Experimental study. SETTING: TNO Human Factors Research Institute, Soesterberg, and the public transport, Amsterdam. METHOD: Volunteers underwent accelerations of the underground in the laboratory. The acceleration that could be tolerated without extra support, was under investigation. In this way, conditions could be determined that cause loss of postural balance. RESULTS: A comparison of data obtained in the laboratory with measurements during public transportation proved that in tram, bus and tube, the 'jerk' and the level of acceleration are both in principle unmanageable without extra support. CONCLUSION: A built-in limitation of the jerk component in vehicles of the public transport could offer a substantial contribution to solving the problem of loss of postural balance by the passengers.

Acceleration↗
PubMed2006

Postural balance in a random sample of 7,979 subjects aged 30 years and over.

BACKGROUND: Reliable normative data for force platform measurements of postural balance have not been available. METHODS: Data on postural balance were collected from a representative nationwide sample of a Finnish population aged >or=30 years (n = 7,979). As part of a comprehensive health survey (Health 2000), postural balance was measured with the help of a force platform system in four test conditions: normal standing with eyes open and closed (both for 30 s), semi-tandem (20 s) and tandem stand with eyes open (20 s). In addition, balance abilities were also evaluated by a non-instrumented field test. RESULTS: The main findings of this study indicated that the differences in balance between subjects belonging to different age categories were apparent already among young and middle-aged subjects. This is true, however, only for the more accurate force platform measurements, as the field test showed a clear ceiling effect up to 60 years of age. At higher ages both methods indicated a further, accelerating decline in balance function. In most cases, males tended to have more pronounced sway, as indicated by the speed and amplitude aspects of the movement of the center of pressure during the force platform registrations and these differences were larger in the older age groups. In contrast, in the field test a larger proportion of males were able to achieve the highest category (10 s in tandem stand) and the proportion of subjects unable to stand for a minimum of 10 s feet side by side was larger among females than males. These observations may partly be due to differences in the participation/acceptable performance in the different tests. In addition, the field test and force platform measurements may partially reflect different aspects of balance abilities. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study provide normative values for force platform balance tests at an age of 30 years and above. Deterioration in balance function clearly starts at relatively young ages and further accelerates from at about 60 years upwards. Due to systematic differences between males and females, separate normative values for both sexes are needed. Due to marked ceiling effects the field test can only be recommended for older individuals, aged >/=60. On the other hand, force platform registrations in the more demanding tests (semi-tandem and tandem stands) suffer from floor effects in the oldest age groups.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Estrogen effects on postural balance in postmenopausal women without vasomotor symptoms: a randomized masked trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether estrogen treatment given to postmenopausal women without vasomotor symptoms improves balance more than placebo. METHODS: Forty healthy postmenopausal women without vasomotor symptoms were randomized to transdermal 17beta-estradiol (E2) 50 microg/day for 14 weeks or identical transdermal placebo patches. Postural balance was measured with dynamic posturography before and after 4, 12, and 14 weeks of therapy. In this test, the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems were provoked with increasing difficulty and body sway was measured with a dual forceplate. A low score showed large sway and a score of 100 showed no sway at all. RESULTS: Thirty-eight women completed the study. Both groups had normal balance for their ages and near maximum scores in the three easier balance tests at baseline. In the most difficult test, both groups improved their postural balance significantly (from 13 to 32 and from 22 to 39, respectively) after 4 weeks. Thereafter, no change was seen. One problem was low statistical power, but the relative change in balance did not differ between groups. The comparison did not show even a minute advantage of E2 over placebo, so a study with higher power would probably not have shown a more pronounced effect of estrogen than placebo. The change over time did not differ between groups, which indicates a significant learning effect. CONCLUSION: In women without vasomotor symptoms, estrogen therapy did not seem to increase postural balance significantly more than placebo. However, we could not rule out that estrogens affect postural balance in women with vasomotor symptoms.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed2005

An optimal state estimation model of sensory integration in human postural balance.

We propose a model for human postural balance, combining state feedback control with optimal state estimation. State estimation uses an internal model of body and sensor dynamics to process sensor information and determine body orientation. Three sensory modalities are modeled: joint proprioception, vestibular organs in the inner ear, and vision. These are mated with a two degree-of-freedom model of body dynamics in the sagittal plane. Linear quadratic optimal control is used to design state feedback and estimation gains. Nine free parameters define the control objective and the signal-to-noise ratios of the sensors. The model predicts statistical properties of human sway in terms of covariance of ankle and hip motion. These predictions are compared with normal human responses to alterations in sensory conditions. With a single parameter set, the model successfully reproduces the general nature of postural motion as a function of sensory environment. Parameter variations reveal that the model is highly robust under normal sensory conditions, but not when two or more sensors are inaccurate. This behavior is similar to that of normal human subjects. We propose that age-related sensory changes may be modeled with decreased signal-to-noise ratios, and compare the model's behavior with degraded sensors against experimental measurements from older adults. We also examine removal of the model's vestibular sense, which leads to instability similar to that observed in bilateral vestibular loss subjects. The model may be useful for predicting which sensors are most critical for balance, and how much they can deteriorate before posture becomes unstable.

Brain↗
PubMed1998

The effect of succimer therapy in lead intoxication using postural balance as a measure: a case study in a nine year old child.

Postural balance testing was used as a measure of the effect of therapy on a 9 year old boy with high lead levels. Following therapy with CaEDTA and succimer, the patient's postural sway responses were comparable to a low-lead (< 10 micrograms/dL) comparison group for 3 out of 4 tests which rely relatively less on the higher centers for balance. This improvement in postural balance may be attributable to the combined influence of pharmacologic and age associated maturational effects. This case study provides suggestive evidence that while chelation therapy can reduce PbB levels quickly, it can also modify gross neuromotor function manifested by postural balance characteristics.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Early postmenopausal hormone therapy improves postural balance.

OBJECTIVE: Postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) results in more substantial reductions in the risk of hip fracture when initiated sooner rather than later after menopause. We studied the effects of postmenopausal HT on the postural balance of postmenopausal women, with further assessment according to the time since they achieved menopause. DESIGN: One hundred women with a mean age of 52.5 years (91 evaluable) were randomly and blindly assigned to either a sequential estradiol-norethisterone acetate regimen or placebo for 3 months, after which all participants received open HT for a further 3 months. Postural balance was assessed as sway velocity using a force platform. RESULTS: After 3 months of HT, sway velocity had improved (decreased) from baseline by 7.0% (P = 0.007 vs baseline and P = 0.038 vs placebo). Continued HT for 6 months further improved sway velocity by 12% from baseline (P < 0.0001) to reach values similar to those historically found in younger women or in postmenopausal women after long-term HT. Closer proximity to menopause and more pronounced increases in serum estradiol values were associated with stronger improvements in sway velocity (P = 0.018 for interaction). HT also improved dizziness (P = 0.016 vs baseline and 0.022 vs placebo). (Nonparametric statistics are used throughout, except for analyses of interaction and dizziness.) CONCLUSIONS: Initiation of HT soon after menopause rapidly improved postural balance to levels normally seen in young women. We suggest that improved postural balance can contribute to the protection against fractures associated with HT and explain the more substantial reduction in hip fracture risk after HT initiated sooner, compared with later, after menopause. Further study is required to confirm these results.

Dizziness↗
PubMed1997

Postural balance and self-reported functional ability in 75-year-old men and women: a cross-national comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: To study postural balance in relation to self-reported functional ability (mobility and ADL) and general physical activity in elderly men and women living in three different Nordic environments. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of 448 men and 556 women from among the 75-year-old residents in Glostrup, Denmark, and Göteborg, Sweden, and all the residents of relevant age (127 men and 261 women) in Jyväskylä, Finland. MEASUREMENTS: Assessment of postural balance with eyes open and closed using a piezoelectric force platform. A structured interview on self-reported functional ability and physical activity. An in-laboratory medical examination. RESULTS: In spite of some differences in balance between the groups studied (better results in women compared with men and, to some extent, better results in the participants from Denmark and Finland than in those from Sweden), the performance in the balance tests was similarly associated with functional ability within all groups. The subjects reporting no need of help in performing the ADL and mobility functions performed significantly better in the balance tests. These differences were seen more clearly in the control of anteroposterior movement of center of forces than in the mediolateral direction. The performance in the balance tests was also significantly better among the subjects reporting a higher level of general physical activity than in their less active counterparts. Physical activity and than in their less active counterparts. Physical activity and certain long standing illnesses modified significantly the relationship between postural balance and ADL-performance. When these factors were analyzed simultaneously, the role of balance as a predictor of ADL-performance largely disappeared. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that good balance is one of the prerequisites of performance without difficulty in mobility and ADL functions. Physical exercise may help to maintain balancing abilities in old age; good balance, in turn, may also enable a physically active way of life. The associations of balance with functional ability and physical activity were independent of sex and locality. The results also support the validity of static stabilometry as a tool for evaluating threats to functional limitations in older subjects.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2002

Postural balance in elderly people: changes over a five-year follow-up and its predictive value for survival.

Postural balance in three test conditions (normal standing with eyes open, normal standing with eyes closed, and tandem standing with eyes open) was measured in samples of 75-year-old men and women (N=757) living in three Nordic localities (Glostrup in Denmark, Göteborg in Sweden, and Jyväskylä in Finland). The subjects were re-tested five years later when they had reached the age of 80 years (N=434). The results showed a highly significant longitudinal decline in balancing abilities in all localities and in both sexes. The longitudinal change was larger than suggested by cross-sectional comparisons. On both occasions women showed better results in the balance tests than men in all three localities. Inter-locality differences observed at baseline (somewhat poorer performance among the subjects from Göteborg) largely remained during the follow-up. The simplest balance test, normal standing with eyes open, was also a significant predictor for survival over the 5-year follow-up: the results at baseline were poorer in those subjects who died during the follow-up than in the survivors. It is concluded that postural balance deteriorates markedly from 75 to 80 years of age; at high ages a poor performance in balance tests may also indicate below-average survival.

Aged↗