OBJECTIVE: To assess if any long-term decrements in balance occur after unilateral musculoskeletal injury. The relation between the size of decrement and the dominance, the type, and the time since injury were also considered. DESIGN: With eyes open and closed, postural sway in one-legged standing was recorded for 10 seconds in 48 subjects who sustained a unilateral musculoskeletal injury 6 months to 42 years earlier. Comparative data were also collected in 108 healthy subjects with no previous injury. SETTING: A university physiologic laboratory. PATIENTS: Injured subjects were recruited locally via the district general hospital, sports injury clinic, and the university, and had not received any treatment within the past 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Postural sway of the injured and uninjured limb (or dominant and nondominant limb in the uninjured subjects). RESULTS: Postural sway was significantly greater in the injured limb compared with the uninjured limb (p = .0118). The ratio of the postural sway of the injured limb compared with the uninjured limb (I/UI%) was significantly lower in the group with nondominant injuries (p = .0085). Subjects with nondominant injuries performed significantly better than those with dominant injuries (p = .0085). No relation was found between the decrements in balance performance and the type of injury and time since injury. CONCLUSIONS: Full recovery is frequently not achieved and perhaps recovery does not continue to improve once the formal rehabilitation period is over.
OBJECTIVE: To assess if any long-term decrements in balance occur after unilateral musculoskeletal injury. The relation between the size of decrement and the dominance, the type, and the time since injury were also considered. DESIGN: With eyes open and closed, postural sway in one-legged standing was recorded for 10 seconds in 48 subjects who sustained a unilateral musculoskeletal injury 6 months to 42 years earlier. Comparative data were also collected in 108 healthy subjects with no previous injury. SETTING: A university physiologic laboratory. PATIENTS: Injured subjects were recruited locally via the district general hospital, sports injury clinic, and the university, and had not received any treatment within the past 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Postural sway of the injured and uninjured limb (or dominant and nondominant limb in the uninjured subjects). RESULTS: Postural sway was significantly greater in the injured limb compared with the uninjured limb (p = .0118). The ratio of the postural sway of the injured limb compared with the uninjured limb (I/UI%) was significantly lower in the group with nondominant injuries (p = .0085). Subjects with nondominant injuries performed significantly better than those with dominant injuries (p = .0085). No relation was found between the decrements in balance performance and the type of injury and time since injury. CONCLUSIONS: Full recovery is frequently not achieved and perhaps recovery does not continue to improve once the formal rehabilitation period is over.
Authors: Brad J Farrell; Margarita A Bulgakova; Irina N Beloozerova; Mikhail G Sirota; Boris I Prilutsky Journal: J Neurophysiol Date: 2014-04-30 Impact factor: 2.714