Comparison of Postural Sway, Plantar Cutaneous Sensation According to Saccadic Eye Movement Frequency in Young Adults

• Main Author: Youngsook Bae
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: center of pressure; plantar cutaneous sensation; postural sway; saccadic eye movement; healthy adults
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7067
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

The crossover trial study aimed to identify the saccadic eye movement (SEM) frequency to improve postural sway (PS) and plantar cutaneous sensation (PUS) in young adults. The 17 participants randomly performed 0.5-, 2-, and 3-Hz SEM. The SEM frequency was determined to allow the target to appear once per 2 s (0.5 Hz), twice per second (2 Hz), or thrice per second (3 Hz). SEM performance time was 3 min with a washout period of 5 min. PS and PUS were measured at baseline and during 0.5-Hz, 2-Hz, and 3-Hz SEMs using a Zebris FDM 1.5 force plate. PS was determined by measuring the sway area, path length, and speed of center of pressure (COP) displacement, and PUS was determined via the plantar surface area (PSA). In PS parameters, there was a significant difference among the SEM frequencies in the COP_sway_areaPSA_left_footand PSA_right_foot. Compared to that at baseline, COP_sway_areadecreased at 0.5 Hz and 2 Hz, while PSA_left_footand PSA_right_footincreased at 2 Hz. These results suggest that 2 Hz SEM may improve PS and PSA.