2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Elucidation of the mechanism of standing stability using fingertip sensory information and its application to the prevention of falls in the elderly
| Project/Area Number |
17K01504
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
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| Research Institution | Hiroshima University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | Light touch / 立位 / 足圧中心 / 外乱 / 経頭蓋磁気刺激 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Light touch (LT) with a fingertip to a stable object reduces postural sway during quiet standing. In this study, corticospinal excitability in tibialis anterior (TA) muscle induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation is facilitated in LT condition. Furthermore, TA muscle increasingly activates following backward perturbations in LT condition, which in turn, contributes to a large backward shift of center of pressure (COP). Thus, LT induces larger safety margin between the peak center of mass (CoM) and peak CoP during perturbation. On the other hand, LT reduces postural sway in the adaptation process of balancing behavior during continuous perturbations. More importantly, this adaption under LT condition is observed after LT withdrawal, indicating the benefit of LT for adaptation during balance training.
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| Free Research Field |
リハビリテーション科学，神経生理学，バイオメカニクス
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
高齢者の転倒は骨折や寝たきりに繋がり，転倒予防は超高齢社会を迎えた我が国の喫緊の課題である。高齢者の転倒の主要な要因は立位バランス機能の低下である。その改善には，単なる筋量・筋力の向上だけでは不十分であり，感覚系からのフィードバック情報に基づく適切な運動指令による各筋の制御という一連の神経機構の機能向上が不可欠である。本研究では立位保持中の姿勢動揺を減少させ，安定化させる方法として，固定点へ指先で軽く触れるLight touch（LT)の作用機序の一端を明らかにし，バランス練習の際の有効な介入方法であることを示した。本研究の一連の研究成果はより有効な転倒予防策の提案に繋がることが期待できる。
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