ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Keeping balance of the upright stance is a highly practiced daily task for healthy adults and is effectively performed without overt attentional control in most.
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of concurrent cognitive tasks on postural sway in healthy participants.
METHODS:
This was a prospective study. 20 healthy volunteer subjects were included. The cognitive and balance tasks were performed separately and then, concurrently. Postural control task consisted of 6 conditions (C) of the Sensory Organization Test. The cognitive task consisted of digit rehearsal task of varying presentation and varying levels of difficulty.
RESULTS:
A statistically significant difference was noted between dual task and no task for C1, C2, C3 and C4 Sensory Organization Test scores ( p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between dual task versus non-task for C5, C6 and combined Sensory Organization Test scores ( p > 0.05).
CONCLUSION:
During dual task, increase has been determined in postural sway for C1, C2, C3 and C4 for all presentation modes and difficulty levels of the cognitive tasks.
Keywords:
Postural balance; Task performance and analysis; Memory, short-term; Attention