Effects of different unstable supports on EMG activity and balance

This study analysed the equilibrium strategies and EMG activity during postural equilibrium in four different unstable surfaces. Thirteen team sport males were tested on a FLAT surface and on three different wobble boards (JAKOBS(®) with easy multidirectional displacements, FREEMAN with strong multidirectional displacements and LATERAL with unidirectional lateral displacements). They had to maintain single-limb stance during 5s for each condition. The right foot centre of pressure (COP) position and its variability with concomitant EMG activity of soleus (SOL), tibialis anterior (TA), peroneus longus (PL) and extensor digitorum longus (EXD) muscles were recorded. Subjects maintained balance by making seesaw rotations. LATERAL and FREEMAN boards demonstrated significantly greater COP variability than JAKOBS(®) and FLAT in both anteroposterior and mediolateral directions. Similarly, PL, EXD, and TA muscles EMG activity were significantly greater using the LATERAL board, and in some cases using FREEMAN as compared with JAKOBS(®) and FLAT. These results highlighted new knowledge about central nervous system organisation while keeping equilibrium with a predominant anteroposterior control.

[1]  S. Thacker,et al.  Prevention of knee injuries in sports. A systematic review of the literature. , 2003, The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness.

[2]  P. Morasso,et al.  Can muscle stiffness alone stabilize upright standing? , 1999, Journal of neurophysiology.

[3]  Teruo Uetake,et al.  Changes in center-of-pressure dynamics during upright standing related to decreased balance control in young adults: fractional Brownian motion analysis. , 2002, Journal of human ergology.

[4]  V. S. Gurfinkel,et al.  Human equilibrium on unstable support: the importance of feet-support interaction , 1997, Neuroscience Letters.

[5]  H. Houdijk,et al.  The energy cost for balance control during upright standing. , 2009, Gait & posture.

[6]  Michel Dabonneville,et al.  The effect of feet position on orthostatic posture in a female sample group , 2004, Neuroscience Letters.

[7]  C. Sherrington.  Strychnine and reflex inhibition of skeletal muscle , 1907, The Journal of physiology.

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

[9]  M Dohm-Acker,et al.  [Effect of propriocetiv trainings tools for the muscles in stance stability]. , 2008, Sportverletzung Sportschaden : Organ der Gesellschaft fur Orthopadisch-Traumatologische Sportmedizin.

[10]  B. Day,et al.  Effect of vision and stance width on human body motion when standing: implications for afferent control of lateral sway. , 1993, The Journal of physiology.

[11]  F. P. Kendall,et al.  Muscles: Testing and Function, with Posture and Pain , 1993 .

[12]  Claudia Santos Oliveira,et al.  Analysis of electromyographic activity of ankle muscles on stable and unstable surfaces with eyes open and closed. , 2011, Journal of bodywork and movement therapies.

[13]  P. Morasso,et al.  Ankle muscle stiffness alone cannot stabilize balance during quiet standing. , 2002, Journal of neurophysiology.

[14]  C. Hrysomallis.  Relationship Between Balance Ability, Training and Sports Injury Risk , 2007, Sports medicine.

[15]  Y. Ivanenko,et al.  The direction of postural instability affects postural reactions to ankle muscle vibration in humans , 2000, Neuroscience Letters.

[16]  David A. Winter,et al.  Human balance and posture control during standing and walking , 1995 .

[17]  P. Rougier,et al.  Analysis of center-of-pressure data during unipedal and bipedal standing using fractional Brownian motion modeling. , 2007, Journal of applied biomechanics.

[18]  A. Caraffa,et al.  Prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in soccer , 1996, The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy.

[19]  Charalambos Papaxanthis,et al.  Reaching beyond arm length in normal aging: adaptation of hand trajectory and dynamic equilibrium. , 2008, Behavioral neuroscience.

[20]  A. Seireg,et al.  Normal postural stability and steadiness: quantitative assessment. , 1975, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume.

[21]  B. Rowe,et al.  Effectiveness of a home-based balance-training program in reducing sports-related injuries among healthy adolescents: a cluster randomized controlled trial , 2005, Canadian Medical Association Journal.

[22]  V. S. Gurfinkel,et al.  Kinesthetic reference for human orthograde posture , 1995, Neuroscience.

[23]  H. Alfredson,et al.  Balance board training: prevention of traumatic injuries of the lower extremities in female soccer players? , 2000, Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy.

[24]  A E Patla,et al.  Ankle muscle stiffness in the control of balance during quiet standing. , 2001, Journal of neurophysiology.

[25]  E Delahunt,et al.  Ankle function during hopping in subjects with functional instability of the ankle joint , 2007, Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports.

[26]  Scott M. Lephart,et al.  Proprioception and neuromuscular control in joint stability , 2000 .

[27]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[28]  Brian Caulfield,et al.  Changes in lower limb kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity in subjects with functional instability of the ankle joint during a single leg drop jump , 2006, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[29]  K H Mauritz,et al.  Postural sway in normals and atactic patients: analysis of the stabilising and destabilizing effects of vision. , 1976, Agressologie: revue internationale de physio-biologie et de pharmacologie appliquees aux effets de l'agression.

[30]  T. Pozzo,et al.  Do equilibrium constraints modulate postural reaction when viewing imbalance? , 2012, Brain and Cognition.

[31]  Luciano Fadiga,et al.  Correction: Does Observation of Postural Imbalance Induce a Postural Reaction? , 2011, PLoS ONE.

[32]  Willem van Mechelen,et al.  The Effect of a Proprioceptive Balance Board Training Program for the Prevention of Ankle Sprains , 2004, The American journal of sports medicine.

[33]  A Karlsson,et al.  Correlations between force plate measures for assessment of balance. , 2000, Clinical biomechanics.

[34]  C. Emery,et al.  Is there a clinical standing balance measurement appropriate for use in sports medicine? A review of the literature. , 2003, Journal of science and medicine in sport.

[35]  Luciano Fadiga,et al.  Does Observation of Postural Imbalance Induce a Postural Reaction? , 2011, PloS one.

[36]  Li-Shan Chou,et al.  The Effect of Ankle Disk Training on Muscle Reaction Time in Subjects with a History of Ankle Sprain * , 2001, The American journal of sports medicine.