Use of wavelet coherence to assess two-joint coordination during quiet upright stance

Joint coordination plays a critical role in maintaining postural stability, yet there is limited existing work describing joint coordination patterns in the time–frequency domain. Here, two-joint coordination was examined during quiet upright stance. A wavelet coherence method was applied to quantify the coherence between ankle–trunk and ankle–head angles in the sagittal and frontal planes. Wavelet coherence results indicated intermittent joint coordination particularly for frequencies of 2.5–4.0 Hz. Coherence results were further processed to estimate mean time intervals between coherence instances, coherence burst frequency, and the ratio of in-phase versus anti-phase behaviors. Time intervals between intermittent coherence were 1.3–1.5 sec, coherence burst frequency was ~0.4 Hz, and phase ratios were ~1.0. Intermittent “bursting” of postural muscles may account for the finding of intermittent coherence in the noted frequency band. Some age and/or gender differences in coherence were found, and may be related to comparable differences in postural control ability or strategies. Results from application of this new method support earlier evidence that kinematic coordination is achieved intermittently rather than continuously during quiet upright stance. This method may provide richer information regarding such coordination, and could be a useful approach in future studies.