Postural Sway in Older Patients with Sagittal Imbalance and Young Adults during Local Vibratory Proprioceptive Stimulation

Abstract

This study aimed to assess differences in somatosensory control strategies between older patients with sagittal imbalance and young adults during postural tasks. The center of pressure displacement in 27 older patients with sagittal imbalance and 27 young adults was determined upon standing blindfolded on a balance board. Vibratory stimulation at 56 to 100 Hz was applied bilaterally to the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles (GS) and lumbar multifidus to evaluate the contributions of proprioceptive signals to postural control. Data of older patients and young adults were compared using the Mann–Whitney U-test or independent sample t-tests. Compared with the young adults, the older patients were significantly more reliant on the GS (p < 0.005) for their postural control and showed a higher relative proprioceptive weighting ratio (RPW) (p = 0.038). The postural strategy adopted by the older patients depended on the level of proprioceptive stimulation applied to the GS, and the postural control strategy of the ankle correlated with RPW. Overall, this study identifies RPW as a novel measure of postural strategy in older patients with sagittal imbalance and provides an understanding of strategies used to maintain balance, which may assist in developing preventative measures to reduce the risk of falls.

Biological Responses to Local Vibratory Stimulation for the Lower Legs and Lower Back and Criterion Values Based on Sweep Frequencies of Healthy Individuals: An Observational Study

“…These results are consistent with those of a previous study that showed a greater postural response to the vibratory stimulation of the lower legs when vibration was applied to the lower legs. In a previous study, in which similar mechanical vibration stimulation was used in young healthy individuals, the amount of response was greater when vibratory stimulation was applied to the lower legs than to the lower back, and this trend was also observed in the present study [28]. In both the lower legs and lower back, the standard deviation of the indicator at ES 3 was large.…”

“…The percentage of functional decline for both the lower legs or the lower back in ES 3 was smaller than that in ES 1 and ES 2 . Previous studies [ 26 , 27 , 28 ] have not reported differences in the susceptibility of muscle spindles or the Vater–Pacini corpuscle to hypofunction in healthy individuals. The results of this study suggest that some healthy participants may have a Vater–Pacini corpuscle with a decline in proprioceptive function.…”

Improved postural control in a patient having adult spinal deformity and previous thoraco-lumbar scoliosis surgery: a Chiropractic Biophysics® case report

“…It is known that patients with ASD have impaired postural control ( 4 - 6 ). Although some pre- and post-surgery trials have determined differences in some measures of postural control after spinal surgery for ASD ( 22 ), most studies fail to show significant differences following surgical re-alignment ( 23 ).…”

“…Patients with ASD show impairment in postural control; the maintenance of standing balance. Increased center of pressure (COP) amplitudes are indicative of unsteadiness ( 4 - 6 ). Ito et al , for example, found patients having a SVA >40 mm showed greater root mean square (RMS) displacement in the eyes closed (EC) condition vs. a young and healthy control group ( 4 ).…”

“…Increased center of pressure (COP) amplitudes are indicative of unsteadiness ( 4 - 6 ). Ito et al , for example, found patients having a SVA >40 mm showed greater root mean square (RMS) displacement in the eyes closed (EC) condition vs. a young and healthy control group ( 4 ). Godzik et al found that thoracic hyperkyphosis positively correlated with medial-lateral (ML) sway displacement in eyes open (EO) and EC conditions as well as total sway area in the EC condition vs. age-matched controls ( 5 ).…”