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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Environmental, Aviation and Space Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1325513
This article is part of the Research Topic Aerospace Health and Safety: Today and the Future, Volume II View all 9 articles

The Ground Reaction Force Pattern During Walking Under Vestibular-Demanding Task With/Without Mastoid Vibration: Implication for Future Sensorimotor Training in Astronauts

Provisionally accepted
Zhuo Wang Zhuo Wang 1Haoyu Xie Haoyu Xie 2,3Jung H. Chien Jung H. Chien 4*
  • 1 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
  • 2 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
  • 3 Department of Health & Rehabilitation Science, College of Allied Health Professions, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, United States
  • 4 Independent researcher, Omaha, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: The Sensory Organization Test condition 5 (SOT5) assesses an astronaut's vestibular function pre-/post-spaceflight but has a ceiling effect and mainly evaluates standing balance, neglecting the challenges of walking during space missions. A Locomotor Sensory Organization Test (LSOT) has been developed, mirroring the SOT concept but tailored to assess vestibular function during walking. This study aims to advance current knowledge by examining changes in ground reaction force (GRF) during normal walking (LSOT1) and walking in LSOT5 (vision blocked and treadmill speed varied), both with and without mastoid vibrations. Method: Sixty healthy adults were recruited and divided into two groups: one with mastoid vibration and one without. GRF peaks and respective variabilities were analyzed in the vertical (V), anterior-posterior (AP), and medial-lateral (ML) directions during stance cycles. The effects of LSOTs and mastoid vibration on each dependent variable were assessed using Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance by ranks. Results: The findings revealed that:1) Walking in LSOT5 increased the variabilities of GRFs regardless of the administration of mastoid vibration; 2) the application of mastoid vibration reduced the amplitude of GRF peaks; and 3) walking in LSOT5 while receiving mastoid vibration was the most challenging task compared to all other tasks in this study. Conclusion: The results indicated that analyzing GRF can detect changes in the strategy of balance control across different sensory-conflicted conditions. The findings could be beneficial for assessing the vestibular function pre- and post-space missions and planning for future sensorimotor training programs aimed at enhancing astronauts' abilities to navigate unpredictable sensory-conflicted conditions.

    Keywords: Locomotor Sensory Organization Test, Gait stability, Treadmill-induced perturbations, Ground reaction force, Vestibular function. Abstract Word numbers: 250 Manuscript Work numbers: 7663 Abbreviations: SOT: Sensory organization test LSOT: locomotor sensory organization test

    Received: 21 Oct 2023; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Xie and Chien. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jung H. Chien, Independent researcher, Omaha, United States

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