Investigating balance reactions following continuous, multidirectional, support surface perturbations is essential for improving our understanding of balance control in moving environments. Segmental motions are often incorporated into rapid balance reactions following external perturbations to balance, although the effects of these motions during complex, continuous perturbations have not been assessed. This study aimed to quantify the contributions of body segments (ie, trunk, head, upper extremity, and lower extremity) to the control of center-of-mass (COM) movement during continuous, multidirectional, support surface perturbations. Three-dimensional, whole-body kinematics were captured while 10 participants experienced 5 minutes of perturbations. Anteroposterior, mediolateral, and vertical COM position and velocity were calculated using a full-body model and 7 models with reduced numbers of segments, which were compared with the full-body model. With removal of body segments, errors relative to the full-body model increased, while relationship strength decreased. The inclusion of body segments appeared to affect COM measures, particularly COM velocity. Findings suggest that the body segments may provide a means of improving the control of COM motion, primarily its velocity, during continuous, multidirectional perturbations, and constitute a step toward improving our understanding of how the limbs contribute to balance control in moving environments.

研究连续、多向、支撑表面扰动后的平衡反应对于提高我们对移动环境中平衡控制的理解至关重要。分段运动通常被纳入外部扰动后的快速平衡反应中以达到平衡，尽管这些运动在复杂、连续的扰动期间的影响尚未得到评估。本研究旨在量化身体部位（即躯干、头部、上肢和下肢）在连续、多向支撑面扰动期间对质心 (COM) 运动控制的贡献。当 10 名参与者经历 5 分钟的扰动时，捕获了三维全身运动学。使用全身模型和7个减少节段数的模型计算前后、内侧和垂直COM位置和速度，并与全身模型进行比较。随着身体部位的去除，相对于全身模型的误差增加，而关系强度下降。身体部分的包含似乎会影响 COM 测量，特别是 COM 速度。研究结果表明，身体各节可能提供一种在连续、多向扰动期间改善 COM 运动（主要是其速度）控制的方法，并有助于提高我们对四肢如何有助于运动环境中平衡控制的理解。