Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control.

Abstract

Many components of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems act in concert to achieve the stable, upright human posture. Controlled experiments accompanied by appropriate mathematical methods are needed to understand the role of the different sub-systems involved in human postural control. This article describes a protocol for performing perturbed standing experiments, acquiring experimental data, and carrying out the subsequent mathematical analysis, with the aim of understanding the role of musculoskeletal system and central control in human upright posture. The results generated by these methods are important, because they provide insight into the healthy balance control, form the basis for understanding the etiology of impaired balance in patients and the elderly, and aid in the design of interventions to improve postural control and stability. These methods can be used to study the role of somatosensory system, intrinsic stiffness of ankle joint, and visual system in postural control, and may also be extended to investigate the role of vestibular system. The methods are to be used in the case of an ankle strategy, where the body moves primarily about the ankle joint and is considered a single-link inverted pendulum.