Sensorial Afferents and Center of Foot Pressure in Blind and Sighted Adults

Sforza, Chiarella; Eid, Luca; Ferrario, Virgilio F.

doi:10.1177/0145482x0009400204

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…2). This finding is in accordance with those of previous studies when momentary loss of vision resulted in increased body sway (Schieppati et al 1999;Schmid et al 2007;Sforza et al 2000). Interestingly, blind individuals in our study demonstrated lower balance control in A/P direction compared to sighted participants when they performed the balance tests blindfolded, but the increased sway in blind individuals compared to sighted individuals with eyes closed was abolished in M/L axis (Fig.…”

Section: Static Balance Controlsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Earlier studies have reported that vision plays a major role in postural control and that postural sway increases in the absence of vision (Choy et al 2003;Hsu et al 2007). Visually impaired humans, especially those who have never received any visual stimulation, often exhibit poor static and dynamic balance (Easton et al 1998;PortforsYeomans and Riach 1995;Schmid et al 2007;Sforza et al 2000) and display an increased risk of falling (Aydog et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Static balance control and lower limb strength in blind and sighted women

et al. 2009

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The aim of the present study was to examine isokinetic and isometric strength of the knee and ankle muscles and to compare center of pressure (CoP) sway between blind and sighted women. A total of 20 women volunteered to participate in this study. Ten severe blind women (age 33.5 +/- 7.9 years; height 163 +/- 5 cm; mass 64.5 +/- 12.2 kg) and 10 women with normal vision (age 33.5 +/- 8.3 years; height 164 +/- 6 cm; mass 61.9 +/- 14.5 kg) performed 3 different tasks of increasing difficulty: Normal Quiet Stance (1 min), Tandem Stance (20 s), and One-Leg Stance (10 s). Participants stood barefoot on two adjacent force platforms and the CoP variations [peak-to-peak amplitude (CoPmax) and SD of the CoP displacement (CoPsd)] were analyzed. Sighted participants performed the tests in eyes open and eyes closed conditions. Torque/angular velocity and torque/angular position relationships were also established using a Cybex dynamometer for knee extensors and flexors as well as for ankle plantar and dorsiflexors. The main finding of this study was that the ability to control balance in both anterior/posterior and medio/lateral directions was inferior in blind than in sighted women. However, when sighted participants performed the tests blindfolded, their CoP sway increased significantly in both directions. There were no differences in most isometric and concentric strength measurements of the lower limb muscles between the blind and sighted individuals. Our results demonstrate that vision is a more prominent indicator of performance during the postural tasks compared to strength of the lower limbs. Despite similar level of strength, blind individuals performed significantly worse in all balance tests compared to sighted individuals.

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Section: Static Balance Controlsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Static balance control and lower limb strength in blind and sighted women

et al. 2009

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“…Under such conditions, an immediate increase in the range of COP swaying occurs in individuals without visual impairment (Schieppati, Tacchini, Nardone, Tarantola, & Corna, 1999;Schmid et al, 2007;Sforza et al, 2000). Decreased values of AP, ML, and SA COP were observed during the closed eye measurement in group E; these findings should be interpreted as an increase in postural stability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Numerous previous studies documented that blind individuals are characterized by a lower level of postural stability, manifested by increased area of COP swaying in coronal and sagittal planes (Blomqvist & Rehn, 2007;Easton, Greene, Dizio, & Lackner, 1998;Schmid, Nardone, De Nunzio, Schmid, & Schieppati, 2007;Sforza et al, 2000). According to Rauschecker (1995) and Schmid et al (2007), greater COP sways result from the lack of interaction between visual stimuli and motor behaviors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Methods of rehabilitation, associated with stimulating systems other than vision that control body posture, are postulated to play an important role in preventing age-related decrease in postural stability (Capicikova, Rocchi, Hlavacka, & Chiari, 2006;Sforza, Eid, & Ferrario, 2000). The somatosensory system, whose underlying mechanism is based upon the integration of information on reciprocal position of upper and lower limbs, is postulated to play a fundamental role in the process of compensating for visual impairment (Capicikova et al, 2006;Houglum, 2010;Sforza, Eid, Ferrario, Michielon, & Fragnito, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effect of Sensorimotor Training on the Postural Stability of Visually Impaired Women Over 50 Years of Age

Maćkowiak

Osiński

Salamon

2015

Journal of Women & Aging

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Previous studies indicated that blind and visually impaired people are a group with greater risk of falls. Postmenopausal changes significantly decrease physical efficiency and impair the body's mechanisms for maintaining postural stability. In addition, the frequency of falls among women is much higher than in men. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of sensorimotor exercise on changes in postural stability of visually impaired women over 50 years of age. Visually impaired women from group E showed a lower level of postural stability measured with EO compared to the healthy women. After completing the exercise, a more pronounced improvement in the level of postural stability was observed in group E.

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Short-Term Repeatability of Stabilometric Assessments

Lovecchio

Zago

Perucca

et al. 2016

Journal of Motor Behavior

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The authors evaluated the short-term (within-day, between-days) repeatability of center of pressure (COP) displacements. COP sway area and speed were obtained in the morning and afternoon of two separate days, both with open (EO) and closed (EC) eyes, in 10 healthy adults. Agreement and variability among conditions were tested by ANOVA and Bland-Altman plots. Mode (EO/EC, area: p = .032; speed: p < .004), and day (day1/day2, area: p = .006; speed: p = .02) showed significant differences. The EC condition and the second test day showed the largest values, with medium-large effect sizes. Time-of-day did not influence COP displacements. Speed had better agreement than area (Bland-Altman plots). COP displacements were well reproducible within-day, but had significant between-days variations. COP assessments should be performed in the same session.

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Sensorial Afferents and Center of Foot Pressure in Blind and Sighted Adults

Cited by 14 publications

References 17 publications

Static balance control and lower limb strength in blind and sighted women

Static balance control and lower limb strength in blind and sighted women

The Effect of Sensorimotor Training on the Postural Stability of Visually Impaired Women Over 50 Years of Age

Short-Term Repeatability of Stabilometric Assessments

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