An Instrumented Pull Test to Characterize Postural Responses

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Impairment of postural reflexes, termed postural instability, is a common and disabling deficit in Parkinson's disease. To assess postural reflexes, clinicians typically employ the pull test to grade corrective responses to a backward perturbation at the shoulders. However, the pull test is prone to issues with reliability and scaling (score/4). Here, we present an instrumented version of the pull test to more precisely quantify postural responses. Akin to the clinical test, pulls are manually administered except pull force is also recorded. Displacements of the trunk and feet are captured by a semi-portable motion tracking system. Raw data represent distance traveled (in millimeter units), making subsequent interpretation and analysis intuitive. The instrumented pull test also detects variabilities influencing pull test administration, such as pull force, thereby identifying and quantifying potential confounds that can be accounted for by statistical techniques. The instrumented pull test could have application in studies seeking to capture early abnormalities in postural responses, track postural instability over time, and detect responses to therapy.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere59309
JournalJournal of visualized experiments : JoVE
Issue number146
Number of pages9
ISSN1940-087X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Apr 2019

ID: 235531526