Analysis of Stability on Single-leg Standing by Wearing a Head Mounted Display

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three visual conditions (eyes opened, eyes closed, and wearing of a head mounted display [HMD]) on single-leg standing through kinematics and kinetic analysis. Method: Twelve college students (age: 24.5 ± 2.6 years, height: 175.0 ± 6.4 cm, weight: 69.2 ± 5.1 kg) participated in this study. The study method adopted three-dimensional analysis with six cameras and ground reaction force measurement with one force plate. The analysis variables were coefficient of variation (CV) of the center of body mass, head movement, ground reaction force, and center of pressure, which were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance with repeated measures according to visual conditions. Results: In most cases, the results of this study showed that the CV was significantly higher in the order of HMD wearing, eyes closed, and eyes opened conditions. Conclusion: Our results indicated that body sway was the largest in the HMD wearing condition, and the risk of falling was high owing to the low stability.