%0 Journal Article
%T Independent effects of adding weight and inertia on balance during quiet standing
%A Kerry E Costello
%A Sara L Matrangola
%A Michael L Madigan
%J BioMedical Engineering OnLine
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-925x-11-20
%X Sixteen normal-weight young adult participants stood as still as possible on a custom-built backboard apparatus under four experimental conditions: baseline, added inertia only, added weight only, and added inertia and weight.Adding inertia by itself had no measurable effect on center of pressure movement or backboard movement. Adding weight by itself increased center of pressure movement (indicated greater effort by the postural control system to stand as still as possible) and backboard movement (indicating a poorer ability of the body to stand as still as possible). Adding inertia and weight at the same time increased center of pressure movement but did not increase backboard movement compared to the baseline condition.Adding inertia and adding weight had different effects on balance. Adding inertia by itself had no effect on balance. Adding weight by itself had a negative effect on balance. When adding inertia and weight at the same time, the added inertia appeared to lessen (but did not eliminate) the negative effect of adding weight on balance. These results improve our fundamental understanding of how added mass influences human balance.
%K Balance
%K Center of pressure
%K Mass moment of inertia
%K Weight
%U http://www.biomedical-engineering-online.com/content/11/1/20/abstract