An Instrumented Pull Test to Characterize Postural Responses
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Date
2019-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Visualized Experiments: JoVE
Abstract
Impairment of postural reflexes, termed postural instability, is a common and disabling deficit in Parkinson's disease. To assess postural reflexes, clinicians typically employ the pull test to grade corrective responses to a backward perturbation at the shoulders. However, the pull test is prone to issues with reliability and scaling (score/4). Here, we present an instrumented version of the pull test to more precisely quantify postural responses. Akin to the clinical test, pulls are manually administered except pull force is also recorded. Displacements of the trunk and
feet are captured by a semi-portable motion tracking system. Raw data represent distance traveled (in millimeter units), making subsequent interpretation and analysis intuitive. The instrumented pull test also detects variabilities influencing pull test administration, such as pull force,
thereby identifying and quantifying potential confounds that can be accounted for by statistical techniques. The instrumented pull test could have application in studies seeking to capture early abnormalities in postural responses, track postural instability over time, and detect responses to therapy.
Description
Keywords
Behaviour, Postural reflex, Postural instability, Postural control, Pull test, Balance, StartReact
Citation
Tan, J., W. Thevathasan, J. McGinley, P. Brown, and T. Perera. 2019. An Instrumented Pull Test to Characterize Postural Responses. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE(146): e59309.