Effect of vertical vibrations on human postural balance

Standing is a human posture in which the body is held in an upright position and supported only by the feet. The degeneracy of the postural control balance, in the elderly and in patients with certain pathologies, has forced researchers to study more about how the balance system works in the body. In this paper, a new approach in modelling the human postural control system is presented; this modelling takes advantage of the vestibular system which has an important role in balancing the human stance. With the presence of the controller, the effect of the vertical vibrations of the feet is studied. This study could be an initial step in designing active orthosis which can improve postural stability using the feet.