The Relationship between Balance, Muscles, and Anthropomorphic Features in Young Adults

Abstract

Posture can be defined as the form of the body when sitting, walking, or standing. There would be no problem if muscles interact in harmony with musculoskeletal system or nervous system. Posture analysis is crucial for clinical assessments in physical medicine and rehabilitation. However, studies into this issue are limited. In this study, the relationship between static standing balance and anthropomorphic features in healthy subjects was investigated. The study was carried out with a total of 240 students at Baskent University (116 females, 124 males) aged between 18 and 25 years. Type of balance of the subjects was determined with lateral posture analysis. Additionally, muscle shortness tests, subcutaneous fat thickness, and waist and thigh circumference were measured. As the results of lateral posture analysis, 107 subjects (71 males, 36 females) were detected to have anterior balance, 89 (41 males, 48 females) posterior balance, and 44 (12 males, 32 girls) neutral balance. Values of waist circumference, thigh circumference, and waist/thigh ratio were compared with all three balance types. A statistically significant difference was detected between these values in the subjects who had anterior balance (P < 0.05). In conclusion, a significant relationship was detected between muscle shortness, waist and thigh circumferences, and postural balance type.

Association of Anthropometric Characteristics to Static Sagittal Postural Balance Strategy in Healthy Young Adults

“…As well as, the body responds to an anterior weight shift (AWS) with a characteristic pattern of dorsal muscle activation that begins with the distal gastrocnemius muscle, which is followed by the hamstrings and the lumbar paravertebrals. The prevalence of anterior balance strategy in majority of population in our study were consistent with the study of Ragıba Zagyapan et al [13] which detected a significant relationship between muscle shortness and anterior postural balance type. Anterior balance was more frequent among the subjects who had shortness in hamstring group and hip flexors.…”

“…Previous literature affirms that in healthy adults, the limits of postural stability are set by mechanical factors that include both individual and environmental characteristics. Apart from age [6] and gender [7], body characteristics [8][9][10][11][12][13] are also thought to affect postural stability. Altogether, the differences in body characteristics and dimensions have been assumed to influence the boundaries of individual postural stability.…”

Asociación entre el patrón postural cefálico y la inteligibilidad articulatoria del habla

“…Different studies point out the importance of the cranio-cervical relationship and the modification of odonto-stomatological functions 3,5,6 given that postural equilibrium can be defined as an important factor that describes the human physical and mental condition where controlled and balanced willingness allows preserving body structures and minimizing the risk of deformation or progressive dysfunction; this willingness is a descriptor of biomechanical efficiency to deal with the environment 17 . The present study revealed that a group of young subjects with no relevant morbid history can exhibit slight speech intelligibility alterations as a result of postural dysfunctions at the head-cervical level, particularly because of the presence of posterior head-neck rotation.…”

Towards Multimodal Pain Assessment for Research and Clinical Use

“…Indeed, from a psychological perspective, body movement has been described as an important channel for affect communication [23][24][25][26][27]. Increasing attention is being paid to the possibility of using body movement for automatic affect recognition [28][29][30][31]51] and clinical assessment [44]. In physical medicine and rehabilitation, such as chronic pain rehabilitation, specific movements and postural patterns can reveal emotional conflict, stress response, and capacity to relax [32][33][34].…”