Maintenance of Upright Posture and Balance

Last Updated on Thu, 21 Nov 2019 | Body Function

The skeleton supporting the body is a system of long bones and a many-jointed spine that cannot stand erect against the forces of gravity without the support given by coordinated muscle activity. The muscles that maintain upright posture—that is, support the body's weight against gravity—are controlled by the brain and by reflex mechanisms that are "wired into" the neural networks of the brainstem and spinal cord.

Many of the reflex pathways previously introduced (for example, the stretch and crossed-extensor reflexes) are used in posture control.

Added to the problem of maintaining upright posture is that of maintaining balance. A human being is a very tall structure balanced on a relatively small base, and the center of gravity is quite high, being situated just above the pelvis. For stability, the center of gravity must be kept within the base of support provided by the feet (Figure 12-13). Once the center of gravity has moved beyond this base, the body will fall unless one foot is shifted to broaden the base of support. Yet people can operate under conditions of unstable equilibrium because their balance is protected by complex interacting postural reflexes, all the components of which we have met previously.

The afferent pathways of the postural reflexes come from three sources: the eyes, the vestibular apparatus, and the somatic receptors. The efferent pathways are the alpha motor neurons to the skeletal muscles, and the integrating centers are neuron networks in the brainstem and spinal cord.

In addition to these integrating centers, there are centers in the brain that form an internal representation of the body's geometry, its support conditions, and its orientation with respect to verticality. This internal representation serves two purposes: It serves as a reference frame for the perception of the body's position and orientation in space and for planning actions, and it contributes to stability via the motor controls involved in maintenance of upright posture.

Brain Controls Erect Posture

FIGURE 12-13

The center of gravity is the point in an object at which, if a string were attached at this point and pulled up, all the downward force due to gravity would be exactly balanced. (a) The center of gravity must remain within the upward vertical projections of the object's base (the tall box outlined in the drawing) if stability is to be maintained. (b) Stable conditions: The box tilts a bit, but the center of gravity remains within the base area and so the box returns to its upright position. (c) Unstable conditions: The box tilts so far that its center of gravity is not above any part of the object's base—the dashed rectangle on the floor—and the object will fall.

FIGURE 12-13

The center of gravity is the point in an object at which, if a string were attached at this point and pulled up, all the downward force due to gravity would be exactly balanced. (a) The center of gravity must remain within the upward vertical projections of the object's base (the tall box outlined in the drawing) if stability is to be maintained. (b) Stable conditions: The box tilts a bit, but the center of gravity remains within the base area and so the box returns to its upright position. (c) Unstable conditions: The box tilts so far that its center of gravity is not above any part of the object's base—the dashed rectangle on the floor—and the object will fall.

PART TWO Biological Control Systems

Vander et al.: Human Physiology: The Mechanism of Body Function, Eighth Edition

PART TWO Biological Control Systems

There are many familiar examples of using reflexes to maintain upright posture, one being the crossed-extensor reflex. As one leg is flexed and lifted off the ground, the other is extended more strongly to support the added weight of the body, and the positions of various parts of the body are shifted to move the center of gravity over the single, weight-bearing leg. This shift in the center of gravity, demonstrated in Figure 12-14, is an important component in the stepping mechanism of locomotion.

It is clear that afferent input from several sources is necessary for optimal postural adjustments, yet interfering with any one of these inputs alone does not cause a person to topple over. Blind people maintain their balance quite well with only a slight loss of precision, and people whose vestibular mechanisms have been destroyed have very little disability in everyday life as long as their visual system and somatic receptors are functioning.

The conclusion to be drawn from such examples is that the postural control mechanisms are not only effective and flexible, they are also highly adaptable.

Center of gravity

Postural Control Center Mass

Center of gravity

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Bodies Maintain Posture, Body Maintain Balance Posture, Function Maintain Body Posture, Human Body Maintain Posture, Maintain Posture Functio, Maintenance Balance Function, System Body Stand Erect

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