Learning Upright Standing on a Multiaxial Balance Board

Abstract

Upright stance on a balance board is a skill requiring complex rearrangement of the postural control. Despite the large use of these boards in training the standing posture, a comprehensive analysis of the learning process underlying the control of these devices is lacking. In this paper learning to maintain a stable stance on a multiaxial oscillating board was studied by analyzing performance changes over short and long periods. Healthy participants were asked to keep the board orientation as horizontal as possible for 20 sec, performing two sessions of 8 trials separated by 15-min pause. Memory consolidation was tested one week later. Amplitude and variability of the oscillations around horizontal plane and area and sway path of the board displacement decreased rapidly over the first session. The performance was stable during the second session, and retained after 1 week. A similar behavior was observed in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions for amplitude and variability parameters, with less stable balance in the anterior-posterior direction. Approximate entropy and mean power frequency, assessing temporal dynamics and frequency content of oscillations, changed only in the anterior-posterior direction during the retention test. Overall, the ability to stand on a balance board is rapidly acquired, and retained for long time. The asymmetric stability between anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions replicates a structure observed in other standing stances, suggesting a possible transfer from previous postural experiences. Conversely, changes in the temporal dynamics and the frequency content could be associated with new postural strategies developed later during memory consolidation.

Devices and tasks involved in the objective assessment of standing dynamic balancing – A systematic literature review

“…Omni-axial balance board : The participant is maintaining balance standing on a platform that has a round, hemispheric rocker base ( Fig 5D ). The platform motion can be tracked optically or by accelerometers, ground reaction forces can be measured by force plate and muscle activation by surface EMG [ 37 , 38 ].…”

“…Omni-axial balance boards [ 37 , 38 ] as a research device garnered interest only in recent years. Comparing the results of quiet standing and omni-axial balance board tests, no significant correlations between similar parameters were found [ 38 ].…”

“…they require more than the ankle strategy, which is favorable in eliciting postural responses of interest. However, the balancing task is learnt rapidly and such skills are retained as tested in a one week follow-up study [ 37 ].…”

Quantitative analysis of upright standing in adults with late-onset Pompe disease

“…Generally, in healthy subjects the sway motion along the AP component of the COP is more instable than the sway in the ML component during both quiet28 and perturbed stance2930. Greater instability along AP direction depends on the passive mechanical constrains at ankle and knee joints.…”

Aprendizagem motora após treinamento de equilíbrio com realidade virtual em pacientes com sequelas crônicas de acidente vascular cerebral: generalização dos ganhos obtidos em realidade virtual para ambiente real

“…Todos esses processos devem ainda acontecer de forma coordenada e dentro de um tempo adequado ideal para serem eficientes (Schumway-Cook e Woolacott, 2003;Horak, 2006). O mais importante do ponto de vista da reabilitação é que esse processo é suscetível a modificações pela experiência, ou seja, é suscetível a aprendizagem (Kim et al, 2009;Aruin et al, 2012;Gray et al, 2012;Tsaklis et al, 2012;Elion et al, 2015;Golliwas et al, 2015;Valle et al, 2015;van Dieën et al, 2015;Vearrier et al em 2015). Assim, a reabilitação do controle postural e de equilíbrio tem se pautado na premissa que expor o paciente a situações que desafiem o seu controle postural e equilíbrio de forma repetitiva e progressiva proporcionando aumento na eficiência das respostas (Winstein et al, 2016).…”