Static Posturography of Elderly Fallers and Non-Fallers with Eyes Open and Closed

Static posturography can be used to assess postural balance, which is important for activities of daily living. For older adults, poor postural balance can indicate increased fall risk. This study investigated eyes open and eyes closed static posturography assessments of 100 elderly participants (65 years) in two-feet stance. Twenty-four of these people had fallen in the previous six months. Range in anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) motion; center of pressure (CoP) root mean square distance from mean; AP, ML, and resultant CoP velocity; and percent body weight on left and right feet were calculated from Wii Balance Board vertical force data. All AP measures and resultant CoP velocity were significantly greater with eyes closed than eyes open for fallers and non-fallers. ML CoP velocity was significantly greater with eyes closed than open for fallers. The largest percent increase from eyes open to eyes closed was for AP velocity, followed by 2D velocity for both fallers and non-fallers. Therefore, AP-based center of pressure-derived posturography measures appear to be sensitive to changes in postural control due to elimination of visual input. Significant differences were not found between fallers and non-fallers.