Abstract
This study was undertaken to explore the nature of impaired postural
stability following physical exercise. Nine healthy subjects (aged
24 ± 3 years) were subjected to 30 min of treadmill
walking or running on two separate occasions. Walking and running speeds (1.9
to 2.2 m/s) were chosen to induce equal energy expenditure. During treadmill
exercise, kinematic analysis of head movement was performed. Prior to and
immediately following exercise, postural sway was evaluated as mean velocity of
centre of pressure (V˙COP), measured on a force plate during 30 s
quiet stance with eyes open or eyes closed. The results indicate that exercise
increased two-dimensional postural sway by 9 - 19 %
in eyes open, but not in the eyes closed condition. The deteriorating effect of
exercise was both evident in the sagittal and in the frontal plane, although
the effect on the former was slightly more transient. Post-exercise sway values
were significantly higher after running than after walking. Kinematic analysis
of head movement confirmed larger vertical displacement and acceleration
pattern in running compared to walking. It is concluded that exercise of
moderate intensity deteriorates visual contribution to postural stability. The
effect is evident as an initial destabilisation in the sagittal direction and a
less transient loss of latero-lateral stability. Running tends to disturb
postural stability more than walking, possibly due to more excessive head
movement and disturbance of vestibular and visual information centres.
Key words
Posturography · running · walking · Romberg
quotient
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D. De Clercq, Ph. D.
Department of Movement and Sports Sciences · University of
Ghent
Watersportlaan 2 · 9000 Ghent · Belgium
·
Fax: +32 (0) 9264 6484
Email: Dirk.DeClercq@rug.ac.be
