Impact of Gender, Change of Base of Support, and Visual Deprivation on Postural Balance Control in Young, Healthy Subjects

Vision, vestibular sense, proprioception and muscle strength are required to maintain balance. However, gender could also play a crucial role in postural sway.

This study was used to examine (i) the impact of gender, surface type, and vision on postural sway; (ii) the effects of gender and vision on the limb symmetry of postural sway; and (iii) to understand the effects of gender, stance, surface type and vision on the alterations of dynamic postural sway alterations.

This was a cross-sectional study in which young, healthy men (n = 15) and women (n = 12) underwent a balance control assessment using a force plate (SATEL, 40 Hz). Postural stances were evaluated in different conditions: opened eyes (EO) and closed eyes (EC), on different surface foam vs. firm, a dominant leg stance (DL) vs. a non-dominant leg stance (NDL), and a mediolateral stance (ML) vs. an anteroposterior stance (AP). The mediolateral sway (ML sway), anteroposterior sway (AP sway), and sway area were calculated from the centre of pressure displacements.

ML sway, AP sway and sway area increased when eyes were closed (P < 0.000). Foam surface perturbs balance control more than firm surface under EO and EC conditions for both genders, as observed in the AP sway curve (P < 0.000). A functional symmetry exists between the DL and NDL for all sway parameters: the ML sway, AP sway, and sway area (P = 0.720; P = 0.292; P = 0.954). The AP stance is more stable for the ML sway than the ML stance for both genders (P < 0.001). For the AP sway, the ML stance is more stable than the AP sway AP direction stance for both genders (P < 0.001). Women were significantly more stable than men in the ML stance when vision was absent (P < 0.01).

Postural sway was altered more significantly on a foam surface than on a firm surface and symmetry between the DL and NDL was observed. Furthermore, we concluded that women have better dynamic balance control than men.