Postural control strategies enlightened by the usage of tendon vibration technique

Postural control strategies applied by a subject in two different physical environments (phy env) were explored by using tendon vibration technique. EMG data from left and right Tibialis Anterior and Gastrocnemius muscles have been received from a subject while standing still on a force platform in two different conditions (eyes open and closed) during 180 sec long trials at the phy env's created. The subject received two 10 sec long 80 Hz vibrations applied to left and right Achilles tendon at 50th and 120th secs of the data collection. It has been observed that the subject experienced a motion illusion in the condition where his feet bore his total body weight with eyes closed (phy env I), which has been revealed through the analyses of Center-of-Pressure (CoPx) and EMG data. However, when 7% of his body weight was suspended to the ceiling through a harness (phy env II) the illusion disappeared and the variability in the CoPx signal decreased.