Quantification and reliability of center of pressure movement during balance tasks of varying difficulty

• Entropic half-life quantifies the temporal structure of the COP time series.
• Entropic half-life demonstrated very high relative and absolute reliability.
• Entropic half-life increased when standing on a foam pad compared to flat ground.
• Entropic half-life decreased when standing with eyes closed compared to eyes open.
• This new measure may be used in conjunction with movement magnitude measures.

Postural control is often assessed by quantifying the magnitude of the center of pressure (COP) movement. However, these measures usually focus on the gross amount of movement and ignore the temporal structure of the COP signal. A novel non-linear analysis technique was recently developed to characterize the temporal structure of the COP signal with an output termed the entropic half-life [E(1/2)]. The E(1/2) reflects how much of the previous postural position is used to determine the current postural control strategy (memory effect). The purpose of this study was to quantify the E(1/2) and four COP movement magnitude measurements (medio-lateral and anterior–posterior excursion, path length, 95% ellipse area) for balance tasks increasing in sensory difficulty, as well as the test–retest reliability of each measure. Twenty-seven healthy young adults completed single limb stance tasks varying in sensory difficulty (rigid surface eyes open, rigid surface eyes closed, foam surface eyes open) on two separate occasions. Relative reliability was assessed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC3,3). Absolute reliability was assessed using the standard error of the measurement (SEM) and the sensitivity of the measurement to true changes was assessed using the minimal detectable change (MDC95). The E(1/2) was found to have excellent reliability for all tasks tested (ICC range 0.82–0.91, SEM range 3.5–14.1 mm, MCD95 range 9.7–39.2 mm). The high reliability of the E(1/2) was comparable to that of movement magnitude measurements. This may be used in order to better understand the underlying motor control system.