About the structure of posturography: Sampling duration, parametrization, focus of attention (part I)

Abstract

This study investigates the choice of posturographic parameter sets with respect to the influence of different sampling durations (30 s, 60 s, 300 s). Center of pressure (COP) data are derived from 16 healthy subjects standing quietly on a force plate. They were advised to focus on the postural control process ( i.e. internal focus of attention). 33 common linear and 10 nonlinear parameters are calculated and grouped into five classes. Component structure in each group is obtained via exploratory factor analysis. We demonstrate that COP evaluation—irrespective of sampling duration—necessitates a set of diverse parameters to explain more variance of the data. Further more, parameter sets are uniformly invariant towards sampling durations and display a consistent factor loading pattern. These findings pose a structure for COP parametrization. Hence, specific recommendations are preserved in order to avoid redundancy or misleading basis for inter-study comparisons. The choice of 11 parameters from the groups is recommended as a framework for future research in posturography.