Margin of Stability as a Metric for Balance Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis
Advisor Information
Nicholas Stergiou
Location
Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
8-3-2013 1:00 PM
End Date
8-3-2013 4:00 PM
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the nervous system. This potentially debilitating disorder often results in a general degradation of motor function. In particular, MS patients have been shown to exhibit altered balance dynamics while standing. This altered balance is characterized by a large amount of postural sway. Increased postural sway has also been observed in the medial-lateral direction during walking, even in patients with very mild MS. Traditionally, static measurements taken during quiet standing have been utilized to assess balance impairment in MS patients. Unfortunately, many of these approaches fail to account for aspects of balance during dynamic activities such as walking. It is particularly important to investigate balance during walking because this has been shown to correlate with fall risk in MS patients. It would be pertinent to use a metric that accounts for not only the position of the center of mass or center of pressure but also its velocity. One such system that includes center of mass motion is the extrapolated center of mass motion and margin of stability. This model utilizes the well established inverted pendulum analog of gait to characterize dynamic balance. The application of this unique metric could produce valuable new insights into the dynamic balance of gait in MS patients. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in dynamic balance between MS subjects and healthy controls in the medial-lateral direction utilizing the margin of stability.
Margin of Stability as a Metric for Balance Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis
Milo Bail Student Center Ballroom
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the nervous system. This potentially debilitating disorder often results in a general degradation of motor function. In particular, MS patients have been shown to exhibit altered balance dynamics while standing. This altered balance is characterized by a large amount of postural sway. Increased postural sway has also been observed in the medial-lateral direction during walking, even in patients with very mild MS. Traditionally, static measurements taken during quiet standing have been utilized to assess balance impairment in MS patients. Unfortunately, many of these approaches fail to account for aspects of balance during dynamic activities such as walking. It is particularly important to investigate balance during walking because this has been shown to correlate with fall risk in MS patients. It would be pertinent to use a metric that accounts for not only the position of the center of mass or center of pressure but also its velocity. One such system that includes center of mass motion is the extrapolated center of mass motion and margin of stability. This model utilizes the well established inverted pendulum analog of gait to characterize dynamic balance. The application of this unique metric could produce valuable new insights into the dynamic balance of gait in MS patients. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in dynamic balance between MS subjects and healthy controls in the medial-lateral direction utilizing the margin of stability.