Interactions Between Different Age-Related Factors Affecting Balance Control in Walking

Bibliographic Data

ID4687826
AuthorsHendrik Reimann (0000-0002-3418-9345, University of Delaware, corresponding author), Rachid Ramadan (0000-0001-5949-703X, Ruhr University Bochum), Tyler Fettrow (0000-0003-3325-6726, University of Delaware), Jocelyn F Hafer (0000-0002-4178-8872, University of Delaware), Hartmut Geyer (0000-0003-3238-3299, Carnegie Mellon University), John J Jeka (0000-0001-5942-3209, University of Delaware)
Year2020
Volume2
Pages94-94
Publication date2020-07-31
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Sports and Active Living (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2624-9367 • E-ISSN: 2624-9367
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fspor.2020.00094
PMID33345085
OpenAlexW3046228816
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited160

Maintaining balance during walking is a continuous sensorimotor control problem. Throughout the movement, the central nervous system has to collect sensory data about the current state of the body in space, use this information to detect possible threats to balance and adapt the movement pattern to ensure stability. Failure of this sensorimotor loop can lead to dire consequences in the form of falls, injury and death. Such failures tend to become more prevalent as people get older. While research has established a number of factors associated with higher risk of falls, we know relatively little about age-related changes of the underlying sensorimotor control loop and how such changes are related to empirically established risk factors. This paper approaches the problem of age-related fall risk from a neural control perspective. We begin by summarizing recent empirical findings about the neural control laws mapping sensory input to motor output for balance control during walking. These findings were established in young, neurotypical study populations and establish a baseline of sensorimotor control of balance. We then review correlates for deteriorating balance control in older adults, of muscle weakness, slow walking, cognitive decline, and increased visual dependency. While empirical associations between these factors and fall risk have been established reasonably well, we know relatively little about the underlying causal relationships. Establishing such causal relationships is hard, because the different factors all co-vary with age and are difficult to isolate empirically. One option to analyze the role of an individual factor for balance control is to use computational models of walking comprising all levels of the sensorimotor control loop. We introduce one such model that generates walking movement patterns from a short list of spinal reflex modules with limited supraspinal modulation for balance. We show how this model can be used to simulate empirical studies, and how comparison between the model and empirical results can indicate gaps in our current understanding of balance control. We also show how different aspects of aging can be added to this model to study their effect on balance control in isolation

Balance (ability · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Control (management · Empirical research · Falls in older adults · Gait · Injury prevention · Motor Control · Physical medicine and rehabilitation · Poison control · Sensory system · Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention · Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders · Computer Science · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · Vestibular and auditory disorders

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