| Summary: | Human postural demands and balance control during locomotive and rotational motion are of primary interest for athletic performance and daily life. The equivocal use of terms and expressions such as equilibrium, balance, stability/instability obstruct a clear communication of scientific knowledge. In particular, the terms stability and balance and their different forms or word combinations are often used with various meanings and circular definitions not only in everyday language but in scientific communication as well. Further, stability and balance issues of human movement are often inadequately discussed in the literature in the form of equilibrium situations of rigid bodies. However, for animate systems, stable and unstable equilibrium approaches are too simplistic. As an alternative, the ‘metastability’ concept predominantly used as part of the dynamic systems theory should be applied to human movement.
Thus, the objectives of this letter to the editor are to define established and frequently used terms that describe responses to human movement behavior and to introduce and rationalize the use of a more appropriate and encompassing term entitled ‘metastability’.
|
|---|
