Background: The foot is a complex body structure that plays an important role in static and dynamic situations. Previous studies have reported that altered foot posture might affect knee joint strength and postural stability, however their relationship still remains unclear. Objects: The purpose of this study was to identify whether pronated foot posture has an influence on knee isokinetic strength and static and dynamic postural stability. Methods: Forty healthy young males aged 18 to 26 years were included. Foot posture was evaluated using the Foot Posture Index-6 (FPI-6), and the subjects were divided into two groups according to their FPI-6 scores: a neutral foot group (n = 20, FPI-6 score 0 to +5) and a pronated foot group (n = 20, FPI-6 score +6 or more). Biodex Systems 3 isokinetic dynamometer was used to evaluate knee isokinetic strength and hamstring to quadriceps ratio at three angular velocities: 60°/sec, 90°/sec, and 180°/sec. The static and dynamic postural stability in a single-leg stance under the eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions were measured with a Biodex Balance System. Results: There were no significant differences between the groups in knee isokinetic strength and static postural stability (p > 0.05), but there was a significant difference in the medial– lateral stability index (MLSI) for dynamic postural stability under the eyes-closed condition (p = 0.022). The FPI-6 scores correlated significantly only with the dynamic overall stability index (OSI) and the MLSI (OSI: R = 0.344, p = 0.030; MLSI: R = 0.409, p = 0.009) under the eyesclosed condition. Conclusion: Participants with pronated foot had poorer medial–lateral dynamic stability under an eyes-closed condition than those without, and FPI-6 scores were moderately positively correlated with dynamic OSI and dynamic MLSI under the eyes-closed condition. These results suggest that pronated foot posture could induce a change in postural stability, but not in knee isokinetic strength.

Background: Back pain is associated with a high risk of recurrence. Various physical therapy techniques for back pain have been studied, including reprogramming the central nervous system by integrating sensation and motion with sensory exercise training. Objectives: To aimed verify the effectiveness of sensorimotor training in improving postural stability and pain levels. Design: A randomized controlled trial. Methods: The study population was randomized into a sensory exercise training group and trunk stabilization training group and treated three times a week for 4 weeks. Each group took part in sensorimotor training for 15 minutes or lumbar stabilization exercise for 15 minutes. Results: After the intervention both groups showed Improvements in the variables. There was a significant difference in the dynamic postural stability, limit of stability, and modified visual analog scale scores in the sensorimotor training group compared to the lumbar stabilization exercise group (P<.05). Conclusion: Sensorimotor training appears to be an effective physical therapy exercise program that can be applied in patients with low back pain to improve muscle control ability.

Postural instability can increase the likelihood of hazardous slip and fall accidents in workplaces. The present study intended to extend understanding of the effect of abnormal neck posture on postural control during quiet standing. The effect of body fatigue on the postural control was also of primary concern. Twelve healthy undergraduate students volunteered to participate in the experiment. Standing on a force platform with the neck neutral, flexed, extended, or rotated, subjects’ center of pressures (COP) were measured under the two levels of body fatigue. For the fatigue condition, Subjects exercised in a treadmill to meet the predetermined level of body fatigue. Analyzing the position coordinates of COPs, the length of postural sway path was assessed in both medio-lateral (ML) axis and anterior-posterior (AP) axis. Results showed that, in AP direction, neck extension or rotation significantly increased the sway length as compared with neck neutral. Neck extension led to greater sway length compared to neck rotation. Neck flexion did not differ from neck neutral. The sway length in the AP direction also became significantly larger as the body fatigue accumulated after treadmill exercise. In ML direction, as compared to neutral posture, the neck extension, flexion, or rotation did not significantly affect the length of postural sway path. However, the sway length seemed to increase marginally with the neck extended during the fatigued condition. This study demonstrates that abnormal neck posture may interfere with postural control during standing. The ability to maintain postural stability decreases significantly with the neck extended or rotated. Body fatigue leads to postural instability further.

Background: The multiple hop test is an active performance test that has been commonly used to assess individuals with functional ankle instability. Previous studies have suggested that insufficiency of dynamic postural stability and passive stability during dynamic activities can have an influence on performance in the multiple hop test. However, no study has investigated the effects of dynamic postural stability training and ankle bracing on multiple hop test performance in individuals with functional ankle instability. Objects: The purpose of this study was to compare the immediate effects of dynamic postural stability training versus ankle bracing in the performance of the multiple hop test for participants with functional ankle instability. Methods: Twenty-nine participants with functional ankle instability who scored below 24 in the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool were selected. The participants were randomly divided into two groups: a dynamic postural stability training group (n1=14) and an ankle bracing control group (n2=15). The multiple hop tests were performed before and after applying each intervention. Dynamic postural stability training was performed using visual-feedback-based balance-training equipment; participants in this group were asked to perform a heel raise in a standing position while watching the centering of their forefoot pressure to prevent excessive ankle inversion. Ankle bracing was applied in the control group. Results: When comparing the pre- and post-intervention period for both groups, both methods significantly improved the results of the multiple hop test (p<.05). However, no significant differences were shown between the dynamic postural stability training and ankle bracing groups (p>.05). Conclusion: Both dynamic postural stability training and ankle bracing showed significant improvement (2.85 seconds and 2.05 seconds, respectively) in test performance. Further study is needed to determine the long-term effects of dynamic postural stability training and to determine whether insufficient dynamic postural stability is a causative factor for functional ankle instability.

Loss of postural stability can possibly lead to slip and fall accidents in the number of workplaces and everyday life. This study was aimed to examine the effects of whole body fatigue and partially limited visual field on the ability of maintaining postural balance during quiet standing. A group of twelve healthy male subjects participated in the experiment. Before and after experiencing the whole body fatigue induced by bicycling exercises, the position coordinates of subject’s center of pressure (COP) were obtained under the two levels of visual field condition (i.e., open visual field and limited visual field). Four levels of the whole body fatigue examined were rest, 300watt, 600watt, and 900watt. Position coordinates of COPs measured on a force plate were then converted into the total length of postural sway path in both the medio-lateral (ML) direction and the anterior-posterior (AP) direction. Two-way ANOVA result showed that the length of sway path in the AP direction became significantly larger as the whole body fatigue accumulated. Post-hoc test revealed statistically significant differences between rest and 900watt and between 300watt and 900watt. The significant increase of the sway length was also found when the visual field was partially obstructed by the boxes. In the ML direction, however, there was no statistically significant difference of the postural sway in both the AP and ML directions. The results imply that the ability of maintaining postural stability can be reduced significantly due to such tasks along with whole body fatigue. The postural balance can also be impaired by the limited visual field.

For design research of teenagers' posture correcting shirt, postures of teenagers were analyzed and became the base of inventing suitable patterns. The subjects of this study were 198 of both female and male middle school students from the city of Seoul. Students' postures in classroom and length change of body surface were observed and analyzed; based on this, total of 5 postures was selected, and length changes of body surface were applied. The patterns in this study were designed with stretch material to help antagonism by muscle movements. Each fabric that was used in this study had 110% of stretch, 120~140% of stretch, and 150~170% of stretch. Both of one-way-fabric and duplex-fabric were used in this study, depending on application site.

We investigated the effects of trunk twist on postural stability during manually handling flat ties. Ten male subjects participated in this study. While handling 5kgf and 10kgf bundles of flat ties respectively, their centers of pressure (COPs) were measu

The purposes of this paper are to investigate an effect of weight of material and gender on postural stability and to introduce formulas for those. There were five levels of weights 0, 9, 18, 27 and 36 kg, and two levels of genders were conducted. Eight male and five female subjects participated in this experiment, ten tests were performed for each level of weights to measure the postural stability by using the stability platform. The effect of the genders and the load on the postural stability were statistically analysed by the two way ANOVA test and the regression analysis. The ANOVA test showed that the effect of weights was statistically significant on postural stability to the both male and female subjects. And the postural stability of female subjects was better than that of male subjects. A linear regression formula for the balancing time and the load and a formula for the reduction rate postural stability and the relative load were introduced by the regression analysis.

Core stability exercises for patients with hemiplegia have become increasingly important and a variety of exercises have been developed over the years to give the hemiplegic patients more stable postural control. This study examined the therapeutic effects of the core stability exercises on the ability of static and dynamic postural control. Fifteen hemiplegic patients (7 males, 8 females, age ranging from 46 to 76 years) hospitalized in a Daejoen rehabilitation hospital were enrolled in this study. Nine and 6 patients had a cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage, respectively. The subjects participated in a core stability exercise program consisting of a total of 12 sessions 3 times each week over a 4-week period with each exercise lasting approximately 15 minutes. The ability of static and dynamic postural control by Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Timed Up and Go (TUG), respectively, were measured before and after the core stability exercise. A Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used to compare the effects of the ability of static and dynamic postural control before and after core stability exercise in patients with hemiplegia. The =.05 level of significance was used for the statistical tests. Core stability exercises were effective in improving the ability of static postural control; BBS (p<.05). Core stability exercises were also effective in improving the ability of dynamic postural control; TUG (p<.05). Overall, core stability exercise is believed to be an important therapeutic method in rehabilitation programs for hemiplegic patients.

This study was designed to examine the effects of temporary immobilization of the ankle and knee joints on standing in healthy young adults with the use of a postural control mechanism. The subjects were twenty-four college students (12 males and 12 females, aged between 20 and 28). A Biodex balance system SD 950-302 and its software were used to measure indirect balance parameters in standing. Each subject underwent postural stability tests in 4-different joint conditions: free joints, ankle immobilization only, knee immobilization only, and ankle and knee immobilization. In addition, the postural stability test was conducted once with the subject's eyes open and once with the eyes closed conditions. For data analysis of the postural stability tests, the overall stability index, antero-posterior stability index, and medio-lateral stability index were recorded. The overall stability index (p=.000) and medial-lateral index (p=.003) were significantly greater different conditions with eyes closed in postural stability. Therefore, the eyes closed condition is expected to be used as an effective postural stability training for treatment planning in patients with unstable postures. In addition, training based on the dynamic multi-segment model can improve postural stability and is available to therapeutic programs, helping people with unstable balance to reduce their risk of falling.

Purpose: This study investigated whether there is a correspondence between linear and non-linear analysis for postural stability. Specifically, the focus on this study was to examine whether standard deviation could represent postural stability of whole body and each foot. Methods: 12 young adults participated in the experiment and had to maintain their balance with eyes open in 5 postures: side-by-side (SS), staggered (left (SL) or right (SR) foot forward), and tandem (left (TL) or right (TR) foot forward). Each subject had two 65s trials in each condition. Under two force platform protocol, center of pressure of left (COPL) and right (COPR) was measured and total body center of pressure (COPNET) was finally measured in both the anterior-posterior (AP) and medio-lateral (ML) direction. Standard deviation (SD) of linear analysis and the largest Lyapunov expoenent (LyE) of non-linear analysis were measured for COPL, COPR, and COPNET across whole standing conditions. Results: SD of COPNET was larger in AP than ML in SR and SL conditions, whereas LyE of COPNET in AP and ML were not significantly different. In addition, SD of COPNET in AP was not significantly different from that in ML in TR and TL conditions, while LyE of COPNET in ML was larger than that in AP. Lastly, SD of COPL and COPR in ML was larger than that of COPR and COPL in TR and TL condition, respectively, on the other hand, there was no difference in LyE between COPL and COPR in ML in those conditions. Conclusion: Overall, there is an inconsistency between the SD and LyE during postural dynamics. The findings support the position that SD is not a representative measure of postural stability.

Purpose: Postural stability has an important role for developing locomotion skills, especially in childhood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental change of postural stability with respect to locomotor skills. Methods: Thirty-five participants aged between five to seven year-old whom differentiated by pre examination were divided into Jumping, Hopping, Galloping and Skipping group, respectively. They were asked to perform quiet standing and leaning voluntarily forward, backward, left and right as far as possible on a force plate. A vector of center of pressure was measured to calculate postural stability and one-way ANOVA was performed. Results: Jumping group showed significant low postural stability than the others and there is no significant difference among Hopping, Galloping, and Skipping group who can perform advanced locomotor skills. Conclusion: Postural stability seems to increase when children acquire advance locomotor skills and this result might reflect nonlinear characteristic of human motor development.