The Basics of Balance and Falls

Posture & balance are essential for many of the tasks involved in our daily activities & are neither identical nor completely separate. Although there is no universal agreement as to the definition of posture & balance or on the underlying neural mechanisms, many clinicians would be quic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Home health care management & practice 2009-10, Vol.21 (6), p.436-439
Main Author: Wallmann, Harvey W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Consensus
Falls
Posture
Workplace control
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Summary:Posture & balance are essential for many of the tasks involved in our daily activities & are neither identical nor completely separate. Although there is no universal agreement as to the definition of posture & balance or on the underlying neural mechanisms, many clinicians would be quick to acknowledge their importance. Posture usually refers to the alignment of the body in relation to a reference point, whereas balance is a highly integrative process involving multiple afferent & efferent pathways that work together to control posture (Kaufman, Nashner, & Allison, 1997). Balance may be specifically defined as the stability produced on each side of a vertical axis (O'Sullivan & Schmitz, 2001). [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright holder.]
ISSN:1084-8223
1552-6739
DOI:10.1177/1084822309337189