Relationships between the force of voluntary leg movements and the associated postural adjustments

Abstract

Two types of kicking movements were studied: “touch mode” (minimal impact force) and “strike mode” (maximal impact force). Notable differences have been found to exist between the two kicking conditions. In the “strike mode”, the onset of the voluntary movement occurred later and the movements of the postural segments preceding the voluntary movement were significantly longer and larger. These results confirm that the early postural adjustments contribute importantly to the efficiency of these movements.