A Short Duration Co-vibration Protocol of Antagonist Ankle Muscles to Induce Compensatory Postural Adjustments in Quiet Standing

Abstract

Vibration protocols classically used to alter kinesthetic information are limited for studying quick compensatory postural responses normally induced by external balance perturbations. To overcome these limitations, this study proposes a co-vibration protocol of ankle antagonist muscles: from a co-vibration baseline at 40 Hz a switch at 80 Hz is applied for 1 second but on the agonists only. This protocol induced both quick illusions and quick compensatory postural adjustments coherent with previous literature. This technical solution will be useful to build future protocols investigating the role of kinesthetic sensory information in quick compensatory postural responses.