Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jan;20(1):123-8.
doi: 10.1007/s00586-010-1554-z. Epub 2010 Aug 12.

Horizontal body and trunk center of mass offset and standing balance in scoliotic girls

G Dalleau  1 , M Damavandi, P Leroyer, C Verkindt, C H Rivard, P Allard
Affiliations

Horizontal body and trunk center of mass offset and standing balance in scoliotic girls

G Dalleau et al. Eur Spine J. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

In adolescent idiopathic scoliotic girls, postural imbalance is attributed to a sensory rearrangement of the motor system on the representation of the body in space. The objectives of this study were to test if the anteroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML) and resultant body-head and trunk center of mass (COM) horizontal offsets were similar in able-bodied and scoliotic girls and if these offsets were related to the center of pressure displacements. A total of 21 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis girls and 20 able-bodied girls participated in this study. Their body COM position and that of the head and trunk were estimated according to Damavandi et al. (Med Eng Phys 31:1187-1194, 2009). The COP range and speed in both AP and ML axes were calculated from force plate measurements in quiet standing. The AP offset of the able-bodied group was anterior to the body COM by 11.0 ± 15.9 mm, while that of the scoliotic group was posterior to it by -17.3 ± 11.2 mm. The able-bodied group maintained their head-trunk segment COM more to the right by 14.1 ± 13.1 mm, while that of the scoliotic group was nearly over their body centerline. The scoliotic girls presented higher values for COP range and COP speed than the able-bodied girls. The resultant COM offset was correlated with both the ML COP range and speed only for the scoliotic girls. The small ML COM offset in the scoliotic girls was attributed to a compensatory action of the spinal deformity in the frontal plane resulting in a backward resultant COM offset to regain postural balance concomitant to an increase in the ML neuromuscular demand.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Horizontal position of the center of mass of the head and trunk segment with respect to that of the whole body (offset in mm) in able-bodied and scoliotic girls
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Anteroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML) and resultant (RES) horizontal offsets in able-bodied (AB) and scoliotic (SCO) girls
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) center of pressure range in able-bodied (AB) and scoliotic (SCO) girls
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) center of pressure speed in able-bodied (AB) and scoliotic (SCO) girls
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Damavandi M, Farahpour N, Allard P. Determination of body segment masses and centers of mass using a force plate method in individuals of different morphology. Med Eng Phys. 2009;31:1187–1194. doi: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2009.07.015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Goldberg CJ, Fogarty EE, Moore DP, Dowling FE. Scoliosis and developmental theory: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Spine. 1997;22:2228–2237. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199710010-00006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Goldberg CJ, Kaliszer M, Moore DP, Fogarty EE, Dowling FE. Surface topography, Cobb angles, and cosmetic change in scoliosis. Spine. 2001;26:E55–E63. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200102150-00005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Stokes IA, Dansereau J, Moreland MS. Rib cage asymmetry in idiopathic scoliosis. J Orthop Res. 1989;7:599–606. doi: 10.1002/jor.1100070419. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sahlstrand T, Ortengen R, Nachemson A. Postural equilibrium in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Acta Orthop Scand. 1978;49:354–365. doi: 10.3109/17453677809050088. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types