The Effects of Stroboscopic Vision on Dynamic Postural Stability in Uninjured Individuals

Abstract

Rapid adjustment and adaptation to multisensory cues are crucial for maintaining posture. The role of vision in static postural control was assessed by comparing eyes-open and eyes-closed performance; however, the impact of progressive visual occlusion during dynamic balance remains unclear. This study examined the effect of progressive visual occlusion with stroboscopic goggles on dynamic postural stability during jump landing. Sixteen uninjured, physically active adults participated in this study. Participants performed three single-leg landing trials at 50% of their maximum jump height, starting 70 cm away from the center of the force plate, while wearing stroboscopic vision goggles under three conditions: no-, low-, and high-occlusion. Ground reaction force data were analyzed using the dynamic postural stability index (DPSI). A one-way repeated-measure ANOVA and Hedges’ g effect sizes were employed to assess differences among conditions in DPSI measures. Postural stability indices significantly increased (p = 0.026) with higher visual occlusion levels, indicating worse balance. However, the main effect of vision was only significant in the Medial-Lateral Stability Index (p = 0.009), specifically between no- and low-occlusion (p = 0.004, g= 0.81), resulting in a large effect size. With these results in mind, stroboscopic vision goggles, inducing progressive visual occlusion, impacted postural stability in uninjured individuals during jump landing. The findings suggest that the low-occlusion condition may introduce greater perturbations to postural stability during jump landing tasks compared to the no- and high-occlusion conditions. SV can offer unique challenges, particularly under low-occlusion conditions, and has the potential to serve as a valuable tool for training or sensory reweighting assessments in healthy individuals.