BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated the impact of breast reduction surgery on the daily lives of women, including impacts directly related to changes in postural control such as a reduced center-of-pressure displacement. However, postural control is a dynamic process that depends on the integration of sensory information to organize a proper motor strategy to overcome the balance demands of the task. This study evaluated sensory integration in the postural control of women with breast hypertrophy after breast reduction surgery. METHODS: In this study, 14 women with breast hypertrophy were evaluated before surgery and 6 months afterward. A force platform was used to assess how the somatosensory, visual, and vestibular systems contributed to postural control. Four conditions were used: eyes open/fixed platform (normal condition), eyes closed/fixed platform, eyes open/mobile platform, and eyes closed/mobile platform. For each condition, a nonparametric Friedman test was applied to compare the area and velocity of the center-of-pressure displacement between pre- and post-surgery tests. RESULTS: After surgery, the women demonstrated a smaller displacement area under normal conditions and in the eyes closed/fixed platform condition. The mean velocity in the forward-backward direction was significantly reduced after surgery when the women's eyes were closed on a mobile platform. CONCLUSIONS: After breast reduction surgery, women were found to control their posture with a smaller center-of-pressure displacement area when all sensory information was available and when their vision was suppressed with a fixed platform. Furthermore, the velocities were smaller when vision was suppressed with inaccurate somatosensory information. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated the impact of breast reduction surgery on the daily lives of women, including impacts directly related to changes in postural control such as a reduced center-of-pressure displacement. However, postural control is a dynamic process that depends on the integration of sensory information to organize a proper motor strategy to overcome the balance demands of the task. This study evaluated sensory integration in the postural control of women with breast hypertrophy after breast reduction surgery. METHODS: In this study, 14 women with breast hypertrophy were evaluated before surgery and 6 months afterward. A force platform was used to assess how the somatosensory, visual, and vestibular systems contributed to postural control. Four conditions were used: eyes open/fixed platform (normal condition), eyes closed/fixed platform, eyes open/mobile platform, and eyes closed/mobile platform. For each condition, a nonparametric Friedman test was applied to compare the area and velocity of the center-of-pressure displacement between pre- and post-surgery tests. RESULTS: After surgery, the women demonstrated a smaller displacement area under normal conditions and in the eyes closed/fixed platform condition. The mean velocity in the forward-backward direction was significantly reduced after surgery when the women's eyes were closed on a mobile platform. CONCLUSIONS: After breast reduction surgery, women were found to control their posture with a smaller center-of-pressure displacement area when all sensory information was available and when their vision was suppressed with a fixed platform. Furthermore, the velocities were smaller when vision was suppressed with inaccurate somatosensory information. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .