NCT05367791

Improving Postural Control Through Innovative Stimulation of the Proprioceptive System

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 51 (actual)
• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 7 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Every movement humans make in everyday life is based on a continuous integration of sensory information. A good interaction between sensory processes and motor control, called sensorimotor integration, is necessary for the efficiency of movements. Sensorimotor integration in the context of posture and walking is based on proprioception. Proprioception is the conscious and unconscious perception of the spatial and mechanical state of the musculoskeletal system. Proprioceptive information transmitted through the neuromuscular spindles in particular is suggested to play a role in motor rehabilitation.

Detailed description

This is particularly important when considering populations with impaired proprioception resulting in impaired posture and gait control. This is particularly the case for older adults and children with cerebral palsy (CP). Nevertheless, drastic differences exist between the two populations in the nature of these alterations: stable (children with CP) vs. progressive (older adults); brain lesion/upper motor neuron (children with CP) vs. processing deficits and peripheral sensory degradation (older adults); growing (children with CP) vs. fully developed individuals (older adults). However, both populations can improve their postural control with postural exercise programmes. In humans, the proprioceptive system can also be stimulated non-invasively by mechanical vibrations applied to tendons or muscles (localised vibration; LV), or by electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves (somatosensory electrical stimulation; SES). As a result, chronically applied SES can improve sensorimotor function in healthy adults and some clinical cohorts. Similarly, a 6-week weight-bearing and weight-shifting training programme combined with LV has been reported to provide improved benefits in postural control, again in stroke patients.The greater improvement in motor function when LV or SES is added to active muscles may reflect an adjuvant effect: the sensory signal from LV or SES stimulation is integrated with the sensory signals from the task being performed, thus acting as an associative conditioning of the proprioceptive system, and leading to improved sensorimotor integration. The present project aims to study the effectiveness of a short-term intervention combining postural exercises with LV, SES, or the combination of both. In particular, this study will focus on the effects of these interventions on proprioception, postural control and walking in children with CP and older adults.Confirmation of hypotheses will open up new avenues for rehabilitation therapies and preventive interventions, and may be extended to other purposes and clinical populations.

Conditions

• Sensorimotor Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	POSTUR	Training sessions without any stimulation
OTHER	Localised Vibration	Training sessions with localized vibration
OTHER	Somatosensory Electrical Stimulation	Training sessions with somatosensory electrical stimulation

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-06-29
• Primary completion: 2024-02-07
• Completion: 2024-07-22
• First posted: 2022-05-10
• Last updated: 2024-07-29

Locations

1 site across 1 country: France