Effectiveness of electrical noise in reducing postural sway: a comparison between imperceptible stimulation applied to the anterior and to the posterior leg muscles

PurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate whether subsensory electrical noise stimulation applied over the tibialis anterior (TA) muscles may reduce postural oscillations during quiet stance and to compare such reductions with those obtained by applying the noise stimulation over the triceps surae (TS) muscles. The rationale relies on the use of noise stimulation to enhance the sensitivity of sensory receptors, thereby improving the performance of the postural control system. As recent evidence suggested that the TA muscle might be a better source of proprioceptive information during quiet stance than the TS muscles, the main hypothesis of the present study was that subsensory noise stimulation applied to the TA muscles should be more efficient for postural stabilization than a similar stimulation to the TS.MethodsParticipants had their postural steadiness assessed while subsensory electrical noise was applied bilaterally to their TA or TS muscles and also while the stimulation was applied bilaterally to both TA and TS muscles. No stimulation was delivered in the control condition.ResultsTime-domain and frequency-domain parameters based on center of mass and center of pressure signals were significantly reduced when noise stimulation was applied to the anterior and/or to the posterior leg muscles. No consistent differences in postural sway parameters were observed among the stimulation conditions.ConclusionsThis is the first investigation showing that subsensory stimulation applied over the TA muscles alone is effective in attenuating postural sway, with TS stimulation being equally effective. These findings may have useful applications for the development of medical/rehabilitation devices designed to improve postural steadiness in people with balance impairments.

[1]  Vasilios Baltzopoulos,et al.  The proprioceptive and agonist roles of gastrocnemius, soleus and tibialis anterior muscles in maintaining human upright posture , 2009, The Journal of physiology.

[2]  André Fabio Kohn,et al.  Imperceptible electrical noise attenuates isometric plantar flexion force fluctuations with correlated reductions in postural sway , 2011, Experimental Brain Research.

[3]  André Fabio Kohn,et al.  Vibration-enhanced posture stabilization achieved by tactile supplementation: may blind individuals get extra benefits? , 2011, Medical hypotheses.

[4]  F. Magalhães,et al.  Larger plantar flexion torque variability implies less stable balance in the young: an association affected by knee position. , 2013, Human movement science.

[5]  Lynn Snyder-Mackler,et al.  Clinical electrophysiology : electrotherapy and electrophysiologic testing , 1995 .

[6]  Ian David Loram,et al.  Paradoxical muscle movement during postural control. , 2009, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[7]  J. Rothwell.  Control of Human Voluntary Movement , 1994, Springer Netherlands.

[8]  André Fabio Kohn,et al.  A method to estimate EMG crosstalk between two muscles based on the silent period following an H-reflex. , 2009, Medical engineering & physics.

[9]  M. Kouzaki,et al.  Electrical noise to a knee joint stabilizes quiet bipedal stance. , 2013, Gait & posture.

[10]  Martin Lakie,et al.  Human balancing of an inverted pendulum with a compliant linkage: neural control by anticipatory intermittent bias. , 2003 .

[11]  L. Nashner.  Adapting reflexes controlling the human posture , 1976, Experimental Brain Research.

[12]  Toshio Moritani,et al.  Subthreshold electrical stimulation reduces motor unit discharge variability and decreases the force fluctuations of plantar flexion , 2012, Neuroscience Letters.

[13]  P. Matthews.  Evolving views on the internal operation and functional role of the muscle spindle. , 1981, The Journal of physiology.

[14]  Y Brenière,et al.  Estimating the centre of gravity of the body on the basis of the centre of pressure in standing posture. , 1997, Journal of biomechanics.

[15]  William H Gage,et al.  Kinematic and kinetic validity of the inverted pendulum model in quiet standing. , 2004, Gait & posture.

[16]  D. F. Collins,et al.  Neuromuscular electrical stimulation: implications of the electrically evoked sensory volley , 2011, European Journal of Applied Physiology.

[17]  D. Cox,et al.  The statistical analysis of series of events , 1966 .

[18]  Frank Moss,et al.  Noise in human muscle spindles , 1996, Nature.

[19]  B. Edin,et al.  Human Muscle Spindles Act as Forward Sensory Models , 2010, Current Biology.

[20]  J. Nadal,et al.  Calculation of area of stabilometric signals using principal component analysis , 1996, Physiological measurement.

[21]  A. Kohn,et al.  Postural control during kneeling , 2008, Experimental Brain Research.

[22]  Stephen J Piazza,et al.  Inversion-eversion moment arms of gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior measured in vivo. , 2008, Journal of biomechanics.

[23]  Uwe Proske,et al.  Kinesthesia: The role of muscle receptors , 2006, Muscle & nerve.

[24]  Jacob Cohen.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , 1969, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[25]  Marjorie H. Woollacott,et al.  Motor Control: Theory and Practical Applications , 1995 .

[26]  Mark D. McDonnell,et al.  The benefits of noise in neural systems: bridging theory and experiment , 2011, Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

[27]  Scott E Ross,et al.  Noise-enhanced postural stability in subjects with functional ankle instability , 2007, British Journal of Sports Medicine.

[28]  Kurt Wiesenfeld,et al.  Stochastic resonance and the benefits of noise: from ice ages to crayfish and SQUIDs , 1995, Nature.

[29]  Daniel Vélez Día,et al.  Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement , 2013 .

[30]  Edgar Erdfelder,et al.  G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences , 2007, Behavior research methods.

[31]  L. M. Ward,et al.  Stochastic resonance and sensory information processing: a tutorial and review of application , 2004, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[32]  André Fabio Kohn,et al.  Vibratory noise to the fingertip enhances balance improvement associated with light touch , 2011, Experimental Brain Research.

[33]  Alberto Botter,et al.  How much does the human medial gastrocnemius muscle contribute to ankle torques outside the sagittal plane?☆ , 2013, Human movement science.

[34]  R. Fitzpatrick,et al.  Stable human standing with lower‐limb muscle afferents providing the only sensory input. , 1994, The Journal of physiology.

[35]  Constantinos N Maganaris,et al.  Active, non‐spring‐like muscle movements in human postural sway: how might paradoxical changes in muscle length be produced? , 2005, The Journal of physiology.

[36]  Toshio Moritani,et al.  Unperceivable noise to active light touch effects on fast postural sway , 2012, Neuroscience Letters.

[37]  Valérie Hospod,et al.  Noise-enhanced kinaesthesia: a psychophysical and microneurographic study , 2013, Experimental Brain Research.

[38]  J. Collins,et al.  Vibrating insoles and balance control in elderly people , 2003, The Lancet.

[39]  Nicola A. Maffiuletti,et al.  Physiological and methodological considerations for the use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation , 2010, European Journal of Applied Physiology.

[40]  David L Morgan,et al.  Stochastic resonance in muscle receptors. , 2004, Journal of neurophysiology.

[41]  Attila Priplata,et al.  Noise-enhanced human balance control. , 2002, Physical review letters.

[42]  R. Dickstein,et al.  TENS to the posterior aspect of the legs decreases postural sway during stance , 2006, Neuroscience Letters.

[43]  F. Magalhães,et al.  Influences of premotoneuronal command statistics on the scaling of motor output variability during isometric plantar flexion. , 2013, Journal of neurophysiology.

[44]  P. Matthews,et al.  The sensitivity of muscle spindle afferents to small sinusoidal changes of length , 1969, The Journal of physiology.

[45]  Dario Farina,et al.  Electrical stimulation for neuromuscular testing and training: state-of-the art and unresolved issues , 2011, European Journal of Applied Physiology.

[46]  Ian David Loram,et al.  Human balancing of an inverted pendulum with a compliant linkage: neural control by anticipatory intermittent bias , 2003, The Journal of physiology.

[47]  Paolo Bonato,et al.  Noise‐enhanced balance control in patients with diabetes and patients with stroke , 2006, Annals of neurology.

[48]  M. Shinohara,et al.  Steadiness in plantar flexor muscles and its relation to postural sway in young and elderly adults , 2010, Muscle & nerve.

[49]  F. Magalhães,et al.  Vibration-induced extra torque during electrically-evoked contractions of the human calf muscles , 2010, Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation.

[50]  B. Benda,et al.  Biomechanical relationship between center of gravity and center of pressure during standing , 1994 .

[51]  Derek Abbott,et al.  What Is Stochastic Resonance? Definitions, Misconceptions, Debates, and Its Relevance to Biology , 2009, PLoS Comput. Biol..

[52]  P. Gatev,et al.  Feedforward ankle strategy of balance during quiet stance in adults , 1999, The Journal of physiology.

[53]  J. Collins,et al.  Noise-enhanced balance control in older adults , 2002, Neuroreport.

[54]  P. Lachenbruch.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.) , 1989 .

[55]  Constantinos N Maganaris,et al.  The passive, human calf muscles in relation to standing: the short range stiffness lies in the contractile component , 2007, The Journal of physiology.