Postural Control

balance of the body also flexion on the back leg when the ball is being released ending in a plantar flexion position .

*John Guido and Sherry Werner make a point that “The stride leg functions to dynamically stabilize the hip and knee joints in a single leg stance to maintain standing posture for

When moving and positioning an individual it is important to ensure they are not moved more than their body is capable of, as muscles can only move bones at the joint as far as the joint allows. It is also important to move and handle correctly to ensure nerve fibres are not damaged as they are delicate structures and also important as they send impulses to muscles which enables the muscles to contract and relax. When an individual is moved and positioned it is important this happens smoothly. Sudden movements or pulling in any direction of an individual’s limbs or

Hindbrain structure that controls motor movement coordination, balance, equilibrium and muscle tone: is the cerebellum

of your feet. To maintain a correct balance you must stand on balls of your

I directed Henderson to place her right foot in front of her left and keep her hand by her side while I demonstrate. Henderson was unable to keep balance without swaying. Henderson was then asked to stop before she hurt herelf. I demonstrated five times how to do the test and Henderson still had difficulties following instructions. Henderson also started the test without being promt to do so.

The Balance System SD also serves as a valuable training method to improve kinaesthetic abilities that may provide some degree of compensation for decreased proprioceptive reflex mechanisms following injury (Biodex 2017).

Because the administration of the BESTest takes from 45 to 60 minutes, which may not be practical in all clinical settings, a condensed shorter version of the BESTest (Mini-BESTest) was created. Through the basis of rash analysis, unnecessary items and 2 sections of the BESTest, biomechanical constrains and stability limits/vertically, were removed to yield the assessment of dynamic balance. The Mini-BESTest contains 14 items of the original 36 items from the BESTest. The items on the Mini-BESTest are scored on a 3 point scale ranging from (0) to (2). A score of (0) indicates the lowest level of function and a score of (2) indicates the highest level of function, leading to a possible total score of 28 points (Yingyongyudha et al., 2015).

Falls are triggered by multifaceted factors with numerous dangers that include either long or short term influencing factors. The connections between these factors may be altered by the person?s age, ailments, illnesses, diagnoses such as Parkinson?s, stroke, diabetes mellitus and arthritis, or their surroundings. The major fall risk factors for elderly include their advancing age, loss of muscle strength, unsteady gait, impaired balance, incontinence of bowel or bladder, depression, cognitive impairment, due to

Positioning the body’s centre of gravity over its base of support is where balance comes from. Balance is about remaining stable.

into play causing falls; medical or environmental issues, such as; advanced age, living alone, orthostatic

problems affecting posture or balance is unclear, with not clinical consensus. It is unclear why dynamic

Six standing trials include 1) single dominant leg stance on a firm surface (SDFS), 2) single non-dominant leg stance on a firm surface (SNDFS), 3) double leg stance on a firm surface (DFS), 4) single dominant leg stance on a wobble board (SDWB), 5) single non-dominant leg stance on a wobble board (SNDWB), and 6) double leg stance on a wobble board (DWB). The order of the standing trials will be randomized. A two minute testing period will be recorded for each standing condition. During testing, participants will be instructed to position barefoot with the hands akimbo for as still as possible for both a firm surface and a wobble board conditions. During all one leg stance trials, participants will be instructed to flex the knee of the contralateral

Injuries and death from falls tend to be more severe as people age, depending on a number of personal characteristics and other combining risk factors. A study to assess risk factors determined that cognitive impairment, disability of lower extremities, reflex, abnormality of balance, and foot problems influence the probability of a fall. The chances of falling increased as the number of risk factors increased. Individuals with no factors had an 8% chance of falling compared to 78% with four or more risk

Balance also enable people to stand on the ground with one foot, make other complicated