Postural control

Postural control is the regulation of body position and balance during standing and movement. It combines sensory information with coordinated muscle activity to keep the body stable or guide it toward a new position.

Postural reflexes: Automatic muscle responses that help maintain body position and balance after disturbances. These rapid responses counter shifts that would otherwise destabilize standing or movement.
Center of mass: The point representing the average location of an object's mass. Postural strategies keep its motion within limits compatible with balance.
Berg Balance Scale: A clinical assessment comprising 14 tasks that measures balance during common activities. It scores functional balance abilities in people at risk of falling.
Static balance: The ability to maintain equilibrium while the body is relatively stationary. It isolates control during stillness from the demands of moving between positions.
Vestibular system: The inner-ear sensory system that detects head motion and orientation relative to gravity. Its signals help distinguish body movement from changes in the surrounding visual scene.
Base of support: The area beneath an object or person bounded by its points of contact with a supporting surface. Its size and shape constrain how far the body can shift without stepping.
Timed Up and Go test: A timed mobility test in which a person rises, walks, turns, returns, and sits. Its tasks combine transitions and walking that challenge postural control.
Dynamic balance: The ability to maintain or recover stability while the body or its support surface moves. It highlights control during locomotion and changing tasks rather than quiet standing.
Proprioception: The sense of body position and movement derived from receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints. It provides information about limb position without relying on vision.
Muscle spindle: A sensory receptor in skeletal muscle that detects muscle length and changes in length. It supplies feedback about muscle stretch during postural corrections.

Linked from 11 pages