Postural Sway Response to Local Vibratory Stimulation in Young, Middle-aged and Elderly People in Standing Position

Authors
Ayaka Yamada, Eishi Nakamura, Noritaka Sato, Yoshifumi Morita, Tadashi Ito, Yoshihito Sakai, Kazunori Yamazaki
Corresponding Author
Ayaka Yamada
Available Online 1 June 2015.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2991/jrnal.2015.2.1.5How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Vibratory stimulation device, Proprioception, Postural sway, Low back pain, Fall prevention
Abstract
We investigated the postural sway in response to local vibratory stimulation applied to young, middle-aged and elderly people in the standing position. For this purpose we developed a variable-frequency vibratory stimulation device and measured the postural sway using a gravicorder. As a result, when the vibratory stimulation was applied to the gastrocnemius muscles, the center of pressure moved backward in all subject groups. We found that elderly people with low back pain may perform balance control using their trunks more than their lower legs.

Copyright
© 2013, the Authors. Published by ALife Robotics Corp. Ltd.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).