Assessment of Postural Sway Area in Single-Leg Balance: A Comparative Analysis of Center-of-Pressure Area Metrics with the Convex Hull approach

PURPOSE Quantifying postural control using Center-of-Pressure (COP) data obtained from a force plate is commonly used in balance assessments, yet the sensitivity of various sway area metrics remains unclear. This study introduced the convex hull area as a novel metric and aimed to examine how four C...

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Main Authors: Seung-Hee Nam, Kyung-Min Kim
Format: Article
Language:Korean
Published: The Korean Society of Exercise Physiology 2025-05-01
Series:운동과학
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Online Access:http://ksep-es.org/upload/pdf/ksep-2025-00248.pdf
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author Seung-Hee Nam
Kyung-Min Kim
author_facet Seung-Hee Nam
Kyung-Min Kim
author_sort Seung-Hee Nam
collection DOAJ
description PURPOSE Quantifying postural control using Center-of-Pressure (COP) data obtained from a force plate is commonly used in balance assessments, yet the sensitivity of various sway area metrics remains unclear. This study introduced the convex hull area as a novel metric and aimed to examine how four COP-based sway area measures—rectangular, 66% effective, 95% ellipse, and the convex hull area—respond to progressively restricted visual conditions during single-leg balance. We also aimed to identify how the convex hull area performed relative to traditional sway area metrics. METHODS Forty healthy adults (20 males and 20 females) performed three 10-second single-leg balance trials on a force plate under progressively restricted visual conditions using stroboscopic goggles. Three traditional COP-based sway area parameters and the introduced convex hull area were used to quantify single-leg postural control. All participants completed the balance tests under six visual conditions. RESULTS A two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between sway area parameters and visual conditions (F=5.90, p<.001). The 95% ellipse area showed the highest sensitivity, followed by the convex hull, rectangular, and 66% effective area parameters across different visual conditions. The 95% ellipse and convex hull area produced similar results and were significantly different from the rectangular and 66% effective area (p<.001). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the convex hull area is capable of detecting changes in postural control alongside the 95% ellipse area, performing comparably to traditional sway area metrics. Our results may contribute to the standardization of COP-based sway area metrics.
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher The Korean Society of Exercise Physiology
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series 운동과학
spelling doaj-art-9dd96bf9468c46e597fd0f58ec0053a72025-08-20T02:08:08ZkorThe Korean Society of Exercise Physiology운동과학1226-17262384-05442025-05-0134219920610.15857/ksep.2025.002481144Assessment of Postural Sway Area in Single-Leg Balance: A Comparative Analysis of Center-of-Pressure Area Metrics with the Convex Hull approachSeung-Hee Nam0Kyung-Min Kim1Department of Sport Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, KoreaDepartment of Sport Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, KoreaPURPOSE Quantifying postural control using Center-of-Pressure (COP) data obtained from a force plate is commonly used in balance assessments, yet the sensitivity of various sway area metrics remains unclear. This study introduced the convex hull area as a novel metric and aimed to examine how four COP-based sway area measures—rectangular, 66% effective, 95% ellipse, and the convex hull area—respond to progressively restricted visual conditions during single-leg balance. We also aimed to identify how the convex hull area performed relative to traditional sway area metrics. METHODS Forty healthy adults (20 males and 20 females) performed three 10-second single-leg balance trials on a force plate under progressively restricted visual conditions using stroboscopic goggles. Three traditional COP-based sway area parameters and the introduced convex hull area were used to quantify single-leg postural control. All participants completed the balance tests under six visual conditions. RESULTS A two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between sway area parameters and visual conditions (F=5.90, p<.001). The 95% ellipse area showed the highest sensitivity, followed by the convex hull, rectangular, and 66% effective area parameters across different visual conditions. The 95% ellipse and convex hull area produced similar results and were significantly different from the rectangular and 66% effective area (p<.001). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the convex hull area is capable of detecting changes in postural control alongside the 95% ellipse area, performing comparably to traditional sway area metrics. Our results may contribute to the standardization of COP-based sway area metrics.http://ksep-es.org/upload/pdf/ksep-2025-00248.pdfposturographypostural controlcop area calculationboundary area
spellingShingle Seung-Hee Nam
Kyung-Min Kim
Assessment of Postural Sway Area in Single-Leg Balance: A Comparative Analysis of Center-of-Pressure Area Metrics with the Convex Hull approach
운동과학
posturography
postural control
cop area calculation
boundary area
title Assessment of Postural Sway Area in Single-Leg Balance: A Comparative Analysis of Center-of-Pressure Area Metrics with the Convex Hull approach
title_full Assessment of Postural Sway Area in Single-Leg Balance: A Comparative Analysis of Center-of-Pressure Area Metrics with the Convex Hull approach
title_fullStr Assessment of Postural Sway Area in Single-Leg Balance: A Comparative Analysis of Center-of-Pressure Area Metrics with the Convex Hull approach
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of Postural Sway Area in Single-Leg Balance: A Comparative Analysis of Center-of-Pressure Area Metrics with the Convex Hull approach
title_short Assessment of Postural Sway Area in Single-Leg Balance: A Comparative Analysis of Center-of-Pressure Area Metrics with the Convex Hull approach
title_sort assessment of postural sway area in single leg balance a comparative analysis of center of pressure area metrics with the convex hull approach
topic posturography
postural control
cop area calculation
boundary area
url http://ksep-es.org/upload/pdf/ksep-2025-00248.pdf
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AT kyungminkim assessmentofposturalswayareainsinglelegbalanceacomparativeanalysisofcenterofpressureareametricswiththeconvexhullapproach