Postural instability and freezing of gait (FoG) are key features of Parkinson’s disease (PD) closely related to falls. Growing evidence suggests that co-existing postural deficits could influence the occurrence and severity of FoG. To date, the exact nature of this interrelationship remains largely unknown. We analyzed the complex interaction between postural instability and gait disturbance by comparing the findings available in the posturographic literature between patients with and without FoG. Results showed that FoG and postural instability are intertwined, can influence each other behaviorally and may coincide neurologically. The most common FoG-related postural deficits included weight-shifting impairments, and inadequate scaling and timing of postural responses most apparent at forthcoming postural changes under time constraints. Most likely, a negative cycle of combined and more severe postural deficits in people with FoG will enhance postural stability breakdown. As such, the wide brain network deficiencies involved in FoG may also concurrently influence postural stability. Future work needs to examine whether training interventions targeting both symptoms will have extra clinical benefits on fall frequency.

姿势不稳和步态冻结（FoG）是与跌倒密切相关的帕金森氏病（PD）的关键特征。越来越多的证据表明，同时存在的姿势缺陷可能会影响FoG的发生和严重程度。迄今为止，这种相互关系的确切性质在很大程度上仍然未知。我们通过比较有和没有FoG的患者在地形学文献中可获得的发现，分析了姿势不稳和步态障碍之间的复杂相互作用。结果表明，FoG和姿势不稳是相互交织的，可以在行为上相互影响，并且在神经学上可能是一致的。最常见的与FoG相关的姿势缺陷包括体重转移障碍，姿势响应的缩放和时间安排不充分，这在时间限制下即将出现的姿势变化中最为明显。最有可能的是，FoG患者合并和更严重的姿势缺陷的负面循环会加剧姿势稳定性的下降。因此，FoG涉及的广泛的脑部网络缺陷也可能同时影响姿势稳定性。未来的工作需要检查针对两种症状的培训干预措施是否会对跌倒频率产生额外的临床益处。