Balance and Posture Q&A

Question 1

TRUE OR FALSE - The central set is the readiness of the CNS based on initial conditions, prior experiences and expectations

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT correct for the ankle strategy?
A) The perturbation is fast
B) Muscles are recruited distal to proximal
C) Head is in phase with hip
D) The contact surface is firm and wide

Answer 2

A) The perturbation is fast

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT correct for the hip strategy?
A) The perturbation is fast
B) Muscles are recruited distal to proximal
C) Head is out of phase with hip
D) The contact surface is unstable

Answer 3

B) Muscles are recruited distal to proximal

Question 4

TRUE OR FALSE - The reaching strategy is slower than the stepping strategy

Answer 4

False

Question 5

Which system is NOT a component controlling balance?
A) Visual
B) Auditory
C) Vestibular
D) Proprioceptive

Answer 5

B) Auditory

Question 6

Which system is mainly involved to control balance during upright standing?

Answer 6

Proprioceptive/somatosensory

Question 7

Which part of the ear detect head movements?
A) Semicircular ducts
B) Cochlea
C) The inner ear
D) The auricule

Answer 7

Semicircular ducts

Question 8

TRUE OR FALSE - The vestibulo-ocular reflex is used to stabilize images during eye movements.

Answer 8

True

Question 9

TRUE OR FALSE - Vestibulocollic reflex involves neck motoneurons and semicircular canals.

Answer 9

True

Question 10

Which of these reflex stabilizes the head position in relation to trunk?
A) Cervico-collic
B) Vestibulo-collic
C) Vestibulo-occulomotor
D) None

Answer 10

A) Cervico-collic

Question 11

Which system is decreasing its power during everyday life situations?

Answer 11

Proprioceptive/Somatosensory

Question 12

By which process the relative contributions made by the different sensory systems is controlled?

Answer 12

Sensory reweighting

Question 13

Name 3 muscles commonly elongated and weak when having lordosis.

Answer 13

Anterior abdominals
Small muscles of lumbar spine (multifidus, rotators)
Lower and middle trapezius Hamstrings may lengthen initially or shorten to compensate where posture has been present for some time
Rhomboids (?)
Upper (thoracic and cervical) erector spinal,
Hyoid muscles

Question 14

Name 3 muscles commonly short and strong when having lordosis.

Answer 14

Lumbar erector spinae 
Hip flexors 
Upper trapezius 
Pectoralis major and minor
Levator scapulae Sternocleidomastoid 
Scalenes 
Suboccipital muscles

Question 15

Define the central set.

Answer 15

Readiness of the CNS for an upcoming event based on initial conditions, prior
experiences and expectations.

Question 16

Name the 4 strategies used to recover from a loss of balance.

Answer 16

Ankle and hip strategies and Stepping and reaching strategies.

Question 17

Name the different systems controlling balance.

Answer 17

Visual
Vestibular
Proprioceptive

Question 18

TRUE OR FALSE - When the head moves in one direction, the eyes follow.

Answer 18

False

Question 19

Which reflex is used to stabilize the head position in relation to trunk?

Answer 19

Cervico-colic reflex

Question 20

Define sensory reweighting

Answer 20

Ability to reweight sensory information depending on what the sensory context is.
Important for maintaining stability when moving from one context to another.

Question 21

What is the difference between Center of gravity and Center of mass

Answer 21

COG: Point of application of the resultant of gravitational forces
COM: Defined as the theoretical point in relation to which the mass of this body is
uniformly distributed

Question 22

In which situation the Base of Support is the SMALLEST
A) Tandem position
B) 4 legged position
C) Feet next to each other
D) Feet spread larger of hip

Answer 22

C) Feet next to each other

Question 23

Name the different body landmarks where the gravity lines passes in the SAGITTAL plane.

Answer 23

Forward of ankle 
Behind or through thoracic spine
Through or forward of the knee 
Through acromium
Through r behind the hip (common hip axis)
Through or forward of atlanto-occipital

Question 24

What is happening in a balanced erect posture?

Answer 24

Balanced posture of the body reduces the work done by the muscles in maintaining it in an erect posture.

Question 25

Which of the system is primarily involved when standing in an upright position?
A) Vestibular
B) Visual
C) Auditory
D) Proprioceptive

Answer 25

D) Proprioceptive

Question 26

What is the difference between vestibulo-collic and cervico-collic reflex?

Answer 26

Vestibulo-collic and cervico-collic reflexes closely interact together for the vestibular control of the head orientation in space.

• Vestibulo-collic stabilise the head position in relation to the gravity vector.
• Cervico-collic: stabilise head position in relation to trunk.

Question 27

Which part of the vestibular system is specifically involved in the vestibulocollic reflex?

Answer 27

Semi-circular canal

Question 28

Which part of the visual system is involved in maintaining balance?

Answer 28

Retina

Question 29

Usually during sensory reweighting during movements, which system gets less involved?

Answer 29

Proprioceptive

Question 30

Which structure of the vestibular system detects Angular acceleration?

Answer 30

Semi-circular canals

Question 31

Name the different types of standing posture.

Answer 31

• Lordosis
• Sway back
• Kyphosis
• Scoliosis
• Flat bacK

Question 32

Name three potential health problem of bad posture.

Answer 32

Misalignment of musculoskeletal system. 
Increase pressure on the spine, making it more prone to injury and degeneration. 
Cause neck, shoulder, and back pain.
Decrease flexibility. 
Affect how well joints move. 
Affect balance and increase risk of falling.
Make it harder to digest food. 
Make it harder to breathe.

Question 33

Explain the difference between static and dynamic posture.

Answer 33

Static: Body and its segments are aligned and maintained in certain positions. How you hold yourself when you are not moving: sitting, standing, or sleeping. Usually achieved by co-ordination and interaction of various muscle groups which are working statically to counteract gravity and other forces.
Dynamic: Postures in which the body or its segment are moving. How you hold yourself when you are moving: Like walking, running, or bending over to pick up something. Usually required to form an efficient basis for movement. Muscles and noncontractile structures have to work to adapt to changing circumstance.

Question 34

Explain the vestibulocollic reflex.

Answer 34

Signals detected by the semicircular canals are conveyed to neck motoneurons with the intervention of 1 interneuron on the vestibulocollic neuron (VN) and will
evoke the vestibulocollic reflex (VCR)