Mirror versus stationary cross feedback in controlling the center of foot pressure displacement in quiet standing in elderly subjects.

Abstract

To investigate the effect of mirror feedback on postural control during quiet standing in elderly adults. Before and after intervention trials. Pneumology center in France. Eleven elderly adults (mean age, 70.7+/-4.6 y; mean body weight, 64.5+/-15.0 kg; mean height, 161.4+/-12.0 cm). Participants were asked to stand upright, as immobile as possible, in 2 eyes-open and mirror-feedback conditions. The latter experimental condition consisted of supplying the subjects with their frontal reflection by positioning a mirror in front of them. Foot center of pressure (COP) displacements in the mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) directions were recorded using a force platform. The mirror-feedback condition had different effects on postural sway, depending on the direction: range, variability, and maximal instantaneous speed of the COP displacements decreased in the ML direction, whereas these effects remained unchanged in the AP direction. This study provided evidence that mirror feedback may put elderly adults at lower risk of falling.