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Dear list members,
this is the summary of responses I got from the following question:
I am working in the field of balance and aging. My current problem is
the clear seperation/definition of synonym used terms. In
Shymway-Cook/Woollacott "Motor control" they state that there is no
universal definition of posture and balance (pp119). A new book in
German brought the problems of terms to my attention because there
mobility and locomotion is used in different ways (Runge, M.
"Gehstoerungen, Stuerze, Hueftfrakturen" 1998). By going back to the
anglistic definition I found the same problems. Now my questions are
Is there a difference/definition between balance and posture ?
and what is the difference/definition between locomotion and mobility ?
In addition I would appreciate if somebody could point me to the
relevant literature to back the seperation/definition up.
Thank you very much for all the responses. It was more then helpful to
see
that this question is not as easily solved as I had thought. I have
copied all the responses
as followed with just shortening of the adresses.
Thanks again for the help.
Here are the responses:
Balance can be divided into 2 types: Static balance and dynamic balance.
Static balance is the ability to maintain a desired body posture
(=position
of the body in space). Dynamic balance is the ability to maintain body
posture while the body is moving. (see Payne & Isaacs, 1999. Human Motor
Development). So balance is the ability to keep body posture, while
posture
is the actual body position which can vary.
I do not have a reference for locomotion and mobility, but I think you
have
the same type of dilemma as above: mobility refers to an ability to
move,
while locomotion refers to the act of getting from one spot to another.
You
might not have the ability to move, but you might have means to locomote
(i.e.: wheel chair).
Carola Frank A?albjornsson, Ph.D.
Research & Development
Hi Ellen,
I don't have any literature sources on this topic. However, I thought
about
it for a little bit and came up with these possible differences. These
may
agree or disagree with what other people say.
These are my 2 cents:
(1) balance vs. posture
I would interpret balance to mean that the body center of mass is
actively
controlled at an equilibrium position (whether static or dynamic), while
posture would be defined as the positions that multiple segments must
attain
in order to provide for balance.
(2) locomotion vs. mobility
I would interpret locomotion as the active control of various segments
to
alter the location of the body center of mass, while mobility is the
passive
ability of those segments to attain certain positions that will allow
for
locomotion.
Anyway, these could be wrong or right.
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew Mahar, MS
Orthopedic Biomechanics Research Center
I need to look back at the definitions of balance & posture but I
believe
that there are alot of differences between locomotion & mobility.
Locomotion applies only to gait & mobility is more broad. You can have
passive and active range of motion (mobility) & you can have mobility in
different activities other than gait.
Karen Perell
Pax!
Interesting query about posture and balance. The usage of these
terms suggests the following: posture refers to a static description;
balance refers to a dynamic description. Posture is e.g. of interest
in ergonomy. Balance is something one may study using the force
plate and is affected by the posture. The force plate may record the
swaying and represent it as a *posturogram*. Well, this is just my
intuition about these terms.
regards
Frank B
===================================
Frank Borg
Chydenius Institute/ Jyväskylä Univ.
Dear all,
Dr. Freiberger's question about cross-cultural terminolgy for
locomotion, posture and balance prompts me to mention something I
started while idly passing the time away last weekend. I started
compiling a list of words used in various languages. I started with
"to walk" and "gait" (though I have now added "Balance" and "Posture")
and my survey is very sketchy, but I wonder if you could have a look
and let me know any words from your own language that could be added?
http://guardian.curtin.edu.au/cga/art/literature.html#language
For example, I gather that in Swahili the following words are used:
-kongoja (unsteadily)
-nyata (quietly)
-tataga (quickly)
-sita (slowly or uncertainly)
-enda kikongwe (bent over and with difficulty)
-chechea (carefully)
-tagaa (with long steps)
-dundika (gracefully)
-andamana (in a line)
-bata (like a duck)
.. whereas in Polish, you can say:
chwiejny- (unbalanced)
defilodovy- (goose-stepping)
rovny- (rhythmical, decisive)
(appologies for my non-appropriate fonts)
With all the nations represented on BIOMCH-L these days, we ouight to
be able to come up with an interesting list! I look forward to hearing
from you.
Chris
--
Dr. Chris Kirtley MD PhD
Associate Professor
Dear Dr Ellen Freiberger,
Posture is a characteristic of the position of the body, in the
purest sense it can be described within its own frame of reference.
For example hip flexion or thoracic kyphosis can be determined
without an external frame of reference.
References for this concept are commonly presented in the anatomical
literature and modelling literature.
Some (therapists) describe posture in relation to the line of gravity
(or the horizontal) as an external static frame of reference. See the
classical postural assessments using a plumbline (string with weight)
or grid system as examples.
These are examples of static posture where angles are calculated
relative to the vertical / horizontal.
References for this type of postural concept are in the "posture"
literature using the vertical as a reference frame and head posture
literature where the eye angle is associated with the horizontal.
Areas of interest are in spinal pain (Back and neck) and in
ergonomics gaze angles etc.
Once body position (posture) is defined relative to gravity (and
supporting surface) it also defines the centre of mass and the base
of support. (The base of support can be static or dynamic). The
behavioural attempts to maintain the (projection of the) CoM within
the base of support can be considered a balancing process.
Therefore posture and balance are related in this context.
The difference between locomotion and mobility are less obvious (to
me). In my area of physical therapy the locomotion would more likely
refer to getting from one point to another - mostly gait but would
also include the ability to use a wheelchair.
Mobility (individual) includes the concept of locomotion, yet would
also includes issues of the ability to transfer, sit to stand.
Utilising the concept of societal limitations mobility can also
include "access" to social contact etc.
Mobility can also refer to a joint - in essence range of motion for
the functional task.
cheers
GTA.
Dear Ellen,
My one-eurocent contribution to the balance/posture/mobility/locomotion
definitions:
Some years ago I was struggling with some of these terms when I was
writing a paper for a Norwegian journal. Upon brousing the movement
science litterature, I
came across several anglo terms related to what in Norwegian is called
"bevegelse" (Bevegung/Movement). Here is a handful:
Movement
Motion
Mobility
Locomotion
Emotion
May be the definition of movement by Higgins (Physical Therapy
72(2);1991:123-139) may shred some light on the problem of interpreting
these terms:
"Movement is a kinematic chain of motion having spatial and temporal
coherence to the task at hand."
Interestingly Susan Higgins used the word "motion" to define "movement"
in this task-oriented approach. I suggest the theoretical approach may
have to be declared
also in the definition of other terms related to motor control.
Looking forward to learning what other people come up with on this
important topic.
Rolf
__________________________________________________ _________
Rolf Moe-Nilssen, PhD, PT, Associate professor, Section of
Physiotherapy Science
'm sorry but I don't have the references to back up my statements,but as
I understood it posture simply refers to the geometry of the body or
bodies in question
(e.g., joint or segmental angles) while balance refers whether or not
that posture (and motion) yields an equilibrium ("balance" of forces
acting on the
object(s)). Note there may be stable, neutral, unstable, static and
dynamic equilibriums.
John D. Henley
1301 Devers Dr #13
Hello.
My name is Clare Johnson and my Ph.D. dissertation was entitled: Aging
and Postural Control.
Balance is concerned with bodily equilibrium and posture deals with the
relative position of the various parts of the body (limbs, etc.). If I
can be of more help please let
me know.
Clare B. Johnson, Ph.D.
here are two replies in German:
hi ellen,
auf deine anfrage hin fiel mir spontan das buch von Berger et al. (1984)
Haltung und Bewegung beim Menschen ein. ich weiss allerdings nicht, ob
dort
die gewünschten termini definiert sind. ein weiterer gedanke, der mir
kam,
ist die veröffentlichung von sylvia öunpuu (1994) terminology for
clinical
gait analysis. du kannst sie im internet finden, die seite habe ich aber
nicht mehr im kopf. ihre damals angegebene adresse lautet
sounpuu@ccmckids.org,; gait analysis laboratory, newington children's
hospital.
ich hoffe ich konnte dir weiterhelfen
gruss mark
Sehr geehrte Frau Freiberger,
einer der besten Antworten zur Frage des Unterschiedes von
posture und balance in von Dr. Francesco Benvenuti aus Florenz,
sein Arbeitsgebiet ist posture and balance (benvenuti@dinonet.it) -
einen schönen Gruss von mir.
Falls es interessiert, wir bereiten gerade einen EU Antrag vor zum
Thema postural stability and falls, ein Teil der Arbeit ist die
Taxonomie.
Frohes Schaffen und Grüse aus Ulm
Clemens Becker
Dr. Clemens Becker
Geriatric Centre Ulm
Dr. Ellen Freiberger
Institute of Sportsciences
University Erlangen - Nuernberg
Gebbertstr. 123 b
91058 Erlangen /Germany
Tel: ++49(0)9131-8528790
Fax: ++49(0)9131-8528198
---------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send SIGNOFF BIOMCH-L to LISTSERV@nic.surfnet.nl
For information and archives: http://isb.ri.ccf.org/biomch-l
---------------------------------------------------------------
this is the summary of responses I got from the following question:
I am working in the field of balance and aging. My current problem is
the clear seperation/definition of synonym used terms. In
Shymway-Cook/Woollacott "Motor control" they state that there is no
universal definition of posture and balance (pp119). A new book in
German brought the problems of terms to my attention because there
mobility and locomotion is used in different ways (Runge, M.
"Gehstoerungen, Stuerze, Hueftfrakturen" 1998). By going back to the
anglistic definition I found the same problems. Now my questions are
Is there a difference/definition between balance and posture ?
and what is the difference/definition between locomotion and mobility ?
In addition I would appreciate if somebody could point me to the
relevant literature to back the seperation/definition up.
Thank you very much for all the responses. It was more then helpful to
see
that this question is not as easily solved as I had thought. I have
copied all the responses
as followed with just shortening of the adresses.
Thanks again for the help.
Here are the responses:
Balance can be divided into 2 types: Static balance and dynamic balance.
Static balance is the ability to maintain a desired body posture
(=position
of the body in space). Dynamic balance is the ability to maintain body
posture while the body is moving. (see Payne & Isaacs, 1999. Human Motor
Development). So balance is the ability to keep body posture, while
posture
is the actual body position which can vary.
I do not have a reference for locomotion and mobility, but I think you
have
the same type of dilemma as above: mobility refers to an ability to
move,
while locomotion refers to the act of getting from one spot to another.
You
might not have the ability to move, but you might have means to locomote
(i.e.: wheel chair).
Carola Frank A?albjornsson, Ph.D.
Research & Development
Hi Ellen,
I don't have any literature sources on this topic. However, I thought
about
it for a little bit and came up with these possible differences. These
may
agree or disagree with what other people say.
These are my 2 cents:
(1) balance vs. posture
I would interpret balance to mean that the body center of mass is
actively
controlled at an equilibrium position (whether static or dynamic), while
posture would be defined as the positions that multiple segments must
attain
in order to provide for balance.
(2) locomotion vs. mobility
I would interpret locomotion as the active control of various segments
to
alter the location of the body center of mass, while mobility is the
passive
ability of those segments to attain certain positions that will allow
for
locomotion.
Anyway, these could be wrong or right.
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew Mahar, MS
Orthopedic Biomechanics Research Center
I need to look back at the definitions of balance & posture but I
believe
that there are alot of differences between locomotion & mobility.
Locomotion applies only to gait & mobility is more broad. You can have
passive and active range of motion (mobility) & you can have mobility in
different activities other than gait.
Karen Perell
Pax!
Interesting query about posture and balance. The usage of these
terms suggests the following: posture refers to a static description;
balance refers to a dynamic description. Posture is e.g. of interest
in ergonomy. Balance is something one may study using the force
plate and is affected by the posture. The force plate may record the
swaying and represent it as a *posturogram*. Well, this is just my
intuition about these terms.
regards
Frank B
===================================
Frank Borg
Chydenius Institute/ Jyväskylä Univ.
Dear all,
Dr. Freiberger's question about cross-cultural terminolgy for
locomotion, posture and balance prompts me to mention something I
started while idly passing the time away last weekend. I started
compiling a list of words used in various languages. I started with
"to walk" and "gait" (though I have now added "Balance" and "Posture")
and my survey is very sketchy, but I wonder if you could have a look
and let me know any words from your own language that could be added?
http://guardian.curtin.edu.au/cga/art/literature.html#language
For example, I gather that in Swahili the following words are used:
-kongoja (unsteadily)
-nyata (quietly)
-tataga (quickly)
-sita (slowly or uncertainly)
-enda kikongwe (bent over and with difficulty)
-chechea (carefully)
-tagaa (with long steps)
-dundika (gracefully)
-andamana (in a line)
-bata (like a duck)
.. whereas in Polish, you can say:
chwiejny- (unbalanced)
defilodovy- (goose-stepping)
rovny- (rhythmical, decisive)
(appologies for my non-appropriate fonts)
With all the nations represented on BIOMCH-L these days, we ouight to
be able to come up with an interesting list! I look forward to hearing
from you.
Chris
--
Dr. Chris Kirtley MD PhD
Associate Professor
Dear Dr Ellen Freiberger,
Posture is a characteristic of the position of the body, in the
purest sense it can be described within its own frame of reference.
For example hip flexion or thoracic kyphosis can be determined
without an external frame of reference.
References for this concept are commonly presented in the anatomical
literature and modelling literature.
Some (therapists) describe posture in relation to the line of gravity
(or the horizontal) as an external static frame of reference. See the
classical postural assessments using a plumbline (string with weight)
or grid system as examples.
These are examples of static posture where angles are calculated
relative to the vertical / horizontal.
References for this type of postural concept are in the "posture"
literature using the vertical as a reference frame and head posture
literature where the eye angle is associated with the horizontal.
Areas of interest are in spinal pain (Back and neck) and in
ergonomics gaze angles etc.
Once body position (posture) is defined relative to gravity (and
supporting surface) it also defines the centre of mass and the base
of support. (The base of support can be static or dynamic). The
behavioural attempts to maintain the (projection of the) CoM within
the base of support can be considered a balancing process.
Therefore posture and balance are related in this context.
The difference between locomotion and mobility are less obvious (to
me). In my area of physical therapy the locomotion would more likely
refer to getting from one point to another - mostly gait but would
also include the ability to use a wheelchair.
Mobility (individual) includes the concept of locomotion, yet would
also includes issues of the ability to transfer, sit to stand.
Utilising the concept of societal limitations mobility can also
include "access" to social contact etc.
Mobility can also refer to a joint - in essence range of motion for
the functional task.
cheers
GTA.
Dear Ellen,
My one-eurocent contribution to the balance/posture/mobility/locomotion
definitions:
Some years ago I was struggling with some of these terms when I was
writing a paper for a Norwegian journal. Upon brousing the movement
science litterature, I
came across several anglo terms related to what in Norwegian is called
"bevegelse" (Bevegung/Movement). Here is a handful:
Movement
Motion
Mobility
Locomotion
Emotion
May be the definition of movement by Higgins (Physical Therapy
72(2);1991:123-139) may shred some light on the problem of interpreting
these terms:
"Movement is a kinematic chain of motion having spatial and temporal
coherence to the task at hand."
Interestingly Susan Higgins used the word "motion" to define "movement"
in this task-oriented approach. I suggest the theoretical approach may
have to be declared
also in the definition of other terms related to motor control.
Looking forward to learning what other people come up with on this
important topic.
Rolf
__________________________________________________ _________
Rolf Moe-Nilssen, PhD, PT, Associate professor, Section of
Physiotherapy Science
'm sorry but I don't have the references to back up my statements,but as
I understood it posture simply refers to the geometry of the body or
bodies in question
(e.g., joint or segmental angles) while balance refers whether or not
that posture (and motion) yields an equilibrium ("balance" of forces
acting on the
object(s)). Note there may be stable, neutral, unstable, static and
dynamic equilibriums.
John D. Henley
1301 Devers Dr #13
Hello.
My name is Clare Johnson and my Ph.D. dissertation was entitled: Aging
and Postural Control.
Balance is concerned with bodily equilibrium and posture deals with the
relative position of the various parts of the body (limbs, etc.). If I
can be of more help please let
me know.
Clare B. Johnson, Ph.D.
here are two replies in German:
hi ellen,
auf deine anfrage hin fiel mir spontan das buch von Berger et al. (1984)
Haltung und Bewegung beim Menschen ein. ich weiss allerdings nicht, ob
dort
die gewünschten termini definiert sind. ein weiterer gedanke, der mir
kam,
ist die veröffentlichung von sylvia öunpuu (1994) terminology for
clinical
gait analysis. du kannst sie im internet finden, die seite habe ich aber
nicht mehr im kopf. ihre damals angegebene adresse lautet
sounpuu@ccmckids.org,; gait analysis laboratory, newington children's
hospital.
ich hoffe ich konnte dir weiterhelfen
gruss mark
Sehr geehrte Frau Freiberger,
einer der besten Antworten zur Frage des Unterschiedes von
posture und balance in von Dr. Francesco Benvenuti aus Florenz,
sein Arbeitsgebiet ist posture and balance (benvenuti@dinonet.it) -
einen schönen Gruss von mir.
Falls es interessiert, wir bereiten gerade einen EU Antrag vor zum
Thema postural stability and falls, ein Teil der Arbeit ist die
Taxonomie.
Frohes Schaffen und Grüse aus Ulm
Clemens Becker
Dr. Clemens Becker
Geriatric Centre Ulm
Dr. Ellen Freiberger
Institute of Sportsciences
University Erlangen - Nuernberg
Gebbertstr. 123 b
91058 Erlangen /Germany
Tel: ++49(0)9131-8528790
Fax: ++49(0)9131-8528198
---------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send SIGNOFF BIOMCH-L to LISTSERV@nic.surfnet.nl
For information and archives: http://isb.ri.ccf.org/biomch-l
---------------------------------------------------------------