The effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adults
Balance control is essential for safe walking. Adding haptic input through light touch may improve walking balance; however, evidence is limited. This research investigated the effect of added haptic input through light touch in healthy young adults during challenging walking conditions. Sixteen ind...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584401631475X |
| _version_ | 1819108688268361728 |
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| author | AR Oates J Unger CM Arnold J Fung JL Lanovaz |
| author_facet | AR Oates J Unger CM Arnold J Fung JL Lanovaz |
| author_sort | AR Oates |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Balance control is essential for safe walking. Adding haptic input through light touch may improve walking balance; however, evidence is limited. This research investigated the effect of added haptic input through light touch in healthy young adults during challenging walking conditions. Sixteen individuals walked normally, in tandem, and on a compliant, low-lying balance beam with and without light touch on a railing. Three-dimensional kinematic data were captured to compute stride velocity (m/s), relative time spent in double support (%DS), a medial-lateral margin of stability (MOSML) and its variance (MOSMLCV), as well as a symmetry index (SI) for the MOSML. Muscle activity was evaluated by integrating electromyography signals for the soleus, tibialis anterior, and gluteus medius muscles bilaterally. Adding haptic input decreased stride velocity, increased the %DS, had no effect on the MOSML magnitude, decreased the MOSMLCV, had no effect on the SI, and increased activity of most muscles examined during normal walking. During tandem walking, stride velocity and the MOSMLCV decreased, while %DS, MOSML magnitude, SI, and muscle activity did not change with light touch. When walking on a low-lying, compliant balance beam, light touch had no effect on walking velocity, MOSML magnitude, or muscle activity; however, the %DS increased and the MOSMLCV and SI decreased when lightly touching a railing while walking on the balance beam. The decreases in the MOSMLCV with light touch across all walking conditions suggest that adding haptic input through light touch on a railing may improve balance control during walking through reduced variability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:13:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b08096e7710c422d93d7e89d08011de6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:13:54Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-b08096e7710c422d93d7e89d08011de62022-12-21T18:40:52ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402017-12-0131210.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00484The effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adultsAR Oates0J Unger1CM Arnold2J Fung3JL Lanovaz4College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7 N 5B2, CanadaCollege of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7 N 5B2, CanadaSchool of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, CanadaFeil/Oberfeld/CRIR Research Centre of the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital of CISSS-Laval and School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, CanadaCollege of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7 N 5B2, CanadaBalance control is essential for safe walking. Adding haptic input through light touch may improve walking balance; however, evidence is limited. This research investigated the effect of added haptic input through light touch in healthy young adults during challenging walking conditions. Sixteen individuals walked normally, in tandem, and on a compliant, low-lying balance beam with and without light touch on a railing. Three-dimensional kinematic data were captured to compute stride velocity (m/s), relative time spent in double support (%DS), a medial-lateral margin of stability (MOSML) and its variance (MOSMLCV), as well as a symmetry index (SI) for the MOSML. Muscle activity was evaluated by integrating electromyography signals for the soleus, tibialis anterior, and gluteus medius muscles bilaterally. Adding haptic input decreased stride velocity, increased the %DS, had no effect on the MOSML magnitude, decreased the MOSMLCV, had no effect on the SI, and increased activity of most muscles examined during normal walking. During tandem walking, stride velocity and the MOSMLCV decreased, while %DS, MOSML magnitude, SI, and muscle activity did not change with light touch. When walking on a low-lying, compliant balance beam, light touch had no effect on walking velocity, MOSML magnitude, or muscle activity; however, the %DS increased and the MOSMLCV and SI decreased when lightly touching a railing while walking on the balance beam. The decreases in the MOSMLCV with light touch across all walking conditions suggest that adding haptic input through light touch on a railing may improve balance control during walking through reduced variability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584401631475XBiomedical engineeringRehabilitationNeuroscienceHealth sciences |
| spellingShingle | AR Oates J Unger CM Arnold J Fung JL Lanovaz The effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adults Heliyon Biomedical engineering Rehabilitation Neuroscience Health sciences |
| title | The effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adults |
| title_full | The effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adults |
| title_fullStr | The effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adults |
| title_short | The effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adults |
| title_sort | effect of light touch on balance control during overground walking in healthy young adults |
| topic | Biomedical engineering Rehabilitation Neuroscience Health sciences |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584401631475X |
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