Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Influence of passive tactile contact of arms on the maintenance of upright posture in humans

  • Published:
Human Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The influence of light passive contact of the forearm with a pliable external object (flexible plate) on the maintenance of upright posture was studied in healthy subjects in several conditions, with the eyes closed and on immersion in a virtual visual environment (VVE). The visual environment was either stable or unstable as a result of a synphase (SP) or antiphase (AP) association between the environment and body sway. The posture maintenance analysis focused on estimating the amplitude and frequency characteristics of two elementary variables, which were calculated from the foot center of pressure (CoP) trajectories in the mediolateral and anteroposterior directions. The variables were trajectory of the vertical projection of the center of gravity (variable CG) and difference between the CoP and CG trajectories (variable CoP–CG). In both the absence and presence of passive tactile contact, the root mean square (RMS) values of the oscillation spectra of the two variables were the lowest in the stable visual environment and in the case of the antiphase association of the environment with body sways and the highest in the cases of the synphase association and standing with the eyes closed. Passive contact decreased body sways in both directions, and the RMSs of the spectra of the two variables decreased in all visual conditions. A greater decrease in RMS was observed for the CG variable. Body sways changed not only in amplitude, but also in frequency. Tactile contact increased the median frequencies (MFs) of the CG variable spectra calculated from the anteroposterior and mediolateral body sways. In contrast, a significant increase in MFs calculated for the CoP–CG variable was observed only for anteroposterior body sways. The results showed that passive contact of a forearm with a pliable external object, which does not provide a mechanical support for the subject, significantly improves the maintenance of the upright posture even in an unstable visual environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Jeka, J.J. and Lackner, J.R., Fingertip contact influences human postural control, Exp. Brain Res., 1994, vol. 100, no. 3, p. 495.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Clapp, S. and Wing, A.M., Light touch contribution to balance in normal bipedal stance, Exp. Brain Res., 1999, vol. 125, no. 4, p. 521.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Reginella, R., Redfern, M.S., and Furman, J.M., Postural sway with earth-fixed and body-referenced finger contact in young and older adults, J. Vestibular Res., 1999, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 103.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Tremblay, F., Mireault, A.-C., Dessureault, L., et al., Postural stabilization from fingertip contact: I. Variations in sway attenuation, perceived stability and contact forces with aging, Exp. Brain Res., 2004, vol. 157, no. 3, p. 275.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Kanekar, N., Lee, Y.J., and Aruin, A.S., Effect of light finger touch in balance control of individuals with multiple sclerosis, Gait Posture, 2013, vol. 38, no. 4, p. 643.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Rabin, E., Chen, J., Muratori, L., et al., Haptic feedback from manual contact improves balance control in people with Parkinson’s disease, Gait Posture, 2013, vol. 38, no. 3, p. 373.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Magalhães, F.H. and Kohn, A.F., Vibration-enhanced posture stabilization achieved by tactile supplementation: May blind individuals get extra benefits?, Med. Hypotheses, 2011, vol. 77, no. 2, p. 301.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Chen, F.C. and Tsai, C.L., Light finger contact concurrently reduces postural sway and enhances signal detection performance in children with developmental coordination disorder, Gait Posture, 2016, vol. 45, p. 193.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Lee, S.-H., Lee, D., Lee, Y., et al., Influence of light touch using the fingertips on postural stability of poststroke patients, J. Phys. Ther. Sci., 2015, vol. 27, no. 2, p. 469.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Rabin, E., DiZio, P., Ventura, J., and Lackner, J.R., Influences of arm proprioception and degrees of freedom on postural control with light touch feedback, J. Neurophysiol., 2008, vol. 99, no. 2, p. 595.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Kouzaki, M. and Masani, K., Reduced postural sway during quiet standing by light touch is due to finger tactile feedback but not mechanical support, Exp. Brain Res., 2008, vol. 188, no. 1, p. 153.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Rogers, M.W., Wardman, D.L., Lord, S.R., et al., Passive tactile sensory input improves stability during standing, Exp. Brain Res., 2001, vol. 136, no. 4, p. 514.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Baldan, A.M., Alouche, S.R., Araujo, I.M., et al., Effect of light touch on postural sway in individuals with balance problems: A systematic review, Gait Posture, 2014, vol. 40, no. 1, p. 1.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Kozhina, G.V., Levik, Yu.S., and Smetanin, B.N., Influence of a light tactile contact on vertical posture maintenance under the conditions of destabilization of visual environment, Hum. Physiol., 2015, vol. 41, no. 5, p. 539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Smetanin, B.N., Kozhina, G.V., Popov, A.K., and Levik, Yu.S., Spectral analysis of the human body sway during standing on firm and compliant surfaces under different visual conditions, Hum. Physiol., 2016, vol. 42, no. 6, p. 626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Burdea, G. and Coiffet, P., Virtual Reality Technology, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Smetanin, B.N., Kozhina, G.V., and Popov, A.K., Effects of manipulations with visual feedback on postural responses in humans maintaining an upright stance, Neurophysiology, 2011, vol. 43, no. 1, p. 30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Smetanin, B.N., Kozhina, G.V., and Popov, A.K., Maintenance of the upright posture in humans upon manipulating the direction and delay of visual feedback, Neurophysiology, 2012, vol. 44, no. 5, p. 401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Caron, O., Faure, B., and Brenière, Y., Estimating the center of gravity of the body on the basis of the center of pressure in standing posture, J. Biomech., 1997, vol. 30, nos. 11–12, p. 1169.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Rougier, P., Compatibility of postural behavior induced by two aspects of visual feedback: Time delay and scale display, Exp. Brain Res., 2005, vol. 165, no. 2, p. 193.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Nafati, G. and Vuillerme, N., Decreasing internal focus of attention improves postural control during quiet standing in young healthy adults, Res. Q. Exercise Sport, 2011, vol. 82, no. 4, p. 634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Munoz, F. and Rougier, P.R., Estimation of centre of gravity movements in sitting posture: Application to trunk backward tilt, J. Biomech., 2011, vol. 44, no. 9, p. 1771.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kharkevich Institute of Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    G. V. Kozhina, Yu. S. Levik, A. K. Popov & B. N. Smetanin

Authors
  1. G. V. Kozhina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yu. S. Levik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. K. Popov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. B. N. Smetanin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to B. N. Smetanin.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © G.V. Kozhina, Yu.S. Levik, A.K. Popov, B.N. Smetanin, 2017, published in Fiziologiya Cheloveka, 2017, Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 70–77.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kozhina, G.V., Levik, Y.S., Popov, A.K. et al. Influence of passive tactile contact of arms on the maintenance of upright posture in humans. Hum Physiol 43, 416–422 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119717030094

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119717030094

Keywords

Search

Navigation