Postural analysis in time and frequency domains in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
EDS clients sway more when they cannot see, so test balance before any standing work.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Galli et al. (2011) watched adults with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome stand on a force plate.
They compared sway with and without eyes open to healthy adults.
The lab test lasted minutes and used simple balance boards.
What they found
EDS adults wobbled more, especially when they closed their eyes.
Without vision their balance scores dropped sharply, showing weak body-position sense.
Frequency measures were the same for both groups, so the timing of sway was normal.
How this fits with other research
Vitiello et al. (2016) saw a similar drop in balance after teens with cerebral palsy walked 15 minutes.
Both studies show quick fatigue or loss of vision makes balance worse in clinical groups.
Cimolin et al. (2011) studied the same EDS adults and found ankle-focused gait problems.
Together the papers say: distal joints and position sense are weak in EDS, so both standing and walking tasks need extra support.
Why it matters
If you run standing programs or toilet-training with EDS clients, check balance first.
Start with eyes-open tasks near a grab bar.
Add short rest breaks before fatigue hits.
These small steps cut falls and keep learning on track.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The goal of this work is to analyze postural control in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) participants in time and frequency domain. This study considered a pathological group composed by 22 EDS participants performing a postural test consisting in maintaining standing position over a force platform for 30s in two conditions: open eyes (OE) and closed eyes (CE). In order to compare pathological group we acquired in the same conditions a control group composed by 20 healthy participants. The obtained center of pressure (COP) signal was analyzed in time and frequency domain using an AR model. Results revealed differences between pathological and control group: EDS participants pointed out difficulties in controlling COP displacements trying to keep it inside the BOS in AP direction and for this reason increased the use of ML mechanism in order to avoid the risk of fall. Also in CE conditions they demonstrated more difficulties in maintaining posture revealing the proprioceptive system is impaired, due to ligament laxity that characterized EDS participants. Frequency domain analysis showed no differences between the two groups, affirming that the changes in time domain reflected really the impairment to the postural control mechanism and not a different strategy assumed by EDS participants. These data could help in decision-making process to establish a correct rehabilitation approach, based on the reinforcing of muscle tone to supply the ligament laxity in order to prevent risks of falls and its consequences.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2011 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.10.009