Everything you need to know about Balance and Stability.
- Karan Somawat
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Introduction
Balance is what lets us walk across a gravel driveway, ride a crowded bus, or simply stand up from a chair without thinking twice. When it fails, the consequences can be serious: falls cause about 684 000 deaths and tens of millions of injuries worldwide each year, making them the second-leading cause of accidental injury deaths after road traffic crashes.
How the Body Stays Upright
Millions of times a day, your nervous system makes small ankle, knee, and hip adjustments to keep the CoM above the base of support by sliding the CoP in the opposite direction.
Core Idea | Meaning | Why it matters |
Center of Mass (CoM) | The moving “balance point” of your body’s weight. | If the CoM drifts too far, you start to topple. |
Center of Pressure (CoP) | The spot where the ground pushes back through your feet. | Tiny shifts in CoP nudge the CoM back toward the middle. |
Base of Support | The area under and between your feet (or any part touching the ground). | A wider base (for example, feet shoulder-width apart) gives your balance system more room to work. |
Turning an Invisible Process into Numbers
Systems from companies like Sensing Future PhysioSensing, capture these micro-adjustments with force platforms and pressure-mapping systems.
The equipment records:
Statokinesigram: a two-dimensional trace showing where the CoP traveled while you stood still.
Stabilogram: the same CoP data plotted against time.
These graphs help clinicians spot early balance problems, track rehabilitation progress, or evaluate fall risk long before a stumble turns into an injury.
In the rest of this guide, you’ll learn:
The differences between force, pressure, and dynamic platforms.
Simple definitions for posturography, stabilometry, and baropodometry.
How colorful foot-pressure maps reveal hidden balance issues.
Where Sensing Future’s own devices fit into assessment and therapy.
How Balance Is Measured
Modern clinics turn invisible sway into clear, shareable numbers. They do it with three main tools: force platforms, pressure platforms, and dynamic (moving) platforms. Each records slightly different information, so together they give a full picture of how a person stays upright.
Tool | What it measures | Typical output | When it is used |
Force platform | Ground-reaction forces under the feet. It tracks the Center of Pressure (CoP). | Statokinesigram (2-D trace of CoP) and stabilogram (CoP vs. time). | Falls risk screening, concussion testing, rehab progress checks. |
Pressure platform | Pressure at hundreds of tiny sensors across a plate. Shows which foot zones carry more load. | Color foot-pressure map plus numerical load distribution. | Diabetic foot care, gait analysis, custom insole design. |
Dynamic platform | Same sensors as a force platform, but the plate can tilt or translate. Introduces controlled “pushes” (perturbations). | Limits-of-stability scores, reaction time, sway after sudden moves. | Athletic training, neurologic rehab, fall-prevention programs. |
1. Force platform
A force platform is essentially a rigid plate on load cells. When you stand on it, software converts the ground-reaction forces into the exact CoP location at every moment. The result is a statokinesigram that looks like a squiggly line. Longer or faster lines usually mean poorer control.
2. Pressure platform (baropodometry)
A pressure platform contains hundreds of pressure sensors. Each sensor changes color on the screen according to how much weight sits above it. The rainbow map reveals if someone overloads the heel, the forefoot, or one side of the body.
3. Dynamic platform
Dynamic or perturbation platforms can slide or tilt in set patterns. The sudden motion forces users to react, so clinicians can see how quickly they regain stability and how far they can lean without stepping. Research shows this training can improve balance and reduce fall risk, especially in older adults.
Where Sensing Future fits
Sensing Future’s PhysioSensing Balance solutions combine force and pressure plates with ready-made protocols such as mCTSIB, Limits of Stability, and Fall Risk. Clinicians can switch between static, pressure, and dynamic tests inside one interface and export clear PDF reports for patients.
Posturography, Stabilometry, and Other Balance Terms
Below are the main scientific words you will see in balance research and in the reports generated by Sensing Future devices. The definitions are kept short, with a quick note on why each term matters in daily practice.
Term | Meaning | Why it matters |
Posturography | The general name for measuring and graphing body sway, most often with a force platform. | Gives a complete picture of how well the balance system works in different test conditions. |
Stabilometry | A method that studies the Center of Pressure (CoP) signal over time while a person stands still. | Shows whether sway speed, area, or path length are higher than normal, which can signal balance problems. |
Baropodometry | Measurement of pressure under the feet using a pressure platform. | Helps spot uneven loading, diabetic foot risk, or gait asymmetry. |
Statokinesigram | A two-dimensional path that the CoP traces on the force or pressure plate during quiet standing. | A longer or more scattered path usually shows reduced stability. |
Stabilogram | A graph of CoP position versus time (usually shown separately for forward-back and left-right directions). | Reveals sway frequency patterns and lets clinicians compare tests with eyes open versus eyes closed. |
Sway | The gentle, continuous movements your body makes to stay balanced. | Normal sway keeps you upright; excessive sway raises fall risk. |
Why Balance Testing Matters
Even simple tests with a force or pressure platform can guide decisions that save lives, money, and training time. Here are the main reasons clinics and researchers rely on these tools.
Key benefits
Early fall-risk screening for older adults A short quiet-standing test can identify people whose sway is outside age-matched norms. Early detection lets clinicians prescribe targeted exercises, home modifications, or programmes such as Tai Chi that lower fall rates.
Objective data after concussion or head injury Self-reported symptoms are not enough. Center-of-pressure metrics pick up subtle balance deficits that can linger even when athletes feel fine, helping medical staff decide when it is truly safe to return to play.
Tracking progress in neurological rehabilitation Dynamic platforms that add controlled perturbations improve reaction time and dual-task gait speed in stroke and Parkinson patients, making therapy more efficient.
Preventing diabetic foot ulcers Pressure mapping shows hidden high-load areas under the foot. Adjusting footwear based on these maps cut ulcer recurrence by about 46 percent in one study.
Reducing healthcare costs Falls already cost health systems billions each year. Simple balance assessments combined with exercise programmes can cut injuries and avoid expensive hospital stays.
How Sensing Future Helps Clinicians Measure and Train Balance
Sensing Future offers solution systems that cover the full range of balance assessment and rehabilitation. Each system is ready-to-use, comes with clear software reports, and follows well-known clinical protocols.
Category | Systems | What it does | Typical users |
Foot-Pressure & Gait Analysis | Podo Suite | Static and dynamic baropodometry, insole prescription, gait cycle metrics | Podiatrists, orthotists, posturologists |
Core Balance Assessment & Training | Basic Suite – Rehab Suite | Balace screening, fall-risk reports, biofeedback games and exercises | Physio clinics, community health centres, neuro rehab |
Immersive Vestibular & VR Therapy | Vertigo Suite | Precise force or pressure plate plus VR headset for sensory conflict training and posturography | ENT, audiology, vestibular physio labs |
Advanced Perturbation & Dual-Plate Gait | Kine-Sim Suite | Two motorised force plates that tilt and translate with on-screen scenarios to train proactive and reactive strategies | Geriatric rehab, senior living, sports performance |
Vestibular Diagnostics | VNG Eye | Video nystagmography – eye-movement tests (spontaneous, gaze, saccade, smooth pursuit) | ENT, neurology, balance clinics |
Conclusion and Takeaways
Regular balance checks are an easy, low-cost way to spot problems early, guide rehabilitation, and keep people active and independent for longer. Thanks to modern force, pressure, and dynamic platforms, clinicians can turn a few minutes of quiet standing or controlled movement into clear numbers that:
flag fall risk before the first accident
track recovery after injuries or neurological events
fine-tune sport or workplace training programmes
Sensing Future’s PhysioSensing solutions give professionals a complete toolkit, from simple screenings to advanced perturbation training, all in one software ecosystem with shareable PDF reports.
Want to know more? Contact the Sensing Future team for a demo or to discuss which solution best fits your clinic, hospital, or research lab.
Sources
PhysioSensing Catalogue. “2025 Catalogue PhysioSensing Balance.” PDF, Sensing Future Technologies, 2025. Get yours now!
PhysioSensing Blog. “12 Protocols for Balance Assessment with Force/Pressure Plate.” 2021.
Lockhart, Michael et al. “Plantar pressure measurement in diabetic foot disease: A scoping review.” Journal of diabetes investigation vol. 15,8 (2024): 990-999. doi:10.1111/jdi.14215 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38634342/
Verywell Health. “New Guidelines Recommend Structured Exercise to Prevent Falls in Older Adults (USPSTF).” 2024. https://www.verywellhealth.com/prevent-fall-risk-in-older-adults-uspstf-8670719
Nørgaard JE, Andersen S, Ryg J, et al
Perturbation-based balance training of older adults and effects on physiological, cognitive and sociopsychological factors: a secondary analysis from a randomised controlled trial with 12-month follow-up
BMJ Open 2024;14:e080550. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080550 https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/8/e080550
Chen, B., Liu, P., Xiao, F., Liu, Z., & Wang, Y. (2021). Review of the Upright Balance Assessment Based on the Force Plate. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(5), 2696. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052696 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7967421/
Vestibular Disorders Association. “The Human Balance System: How Do We Maintain Our Balance?” 2023. https://vestibular.org/article/what-is-vestibular/the-human-balance-system/the-human-balance-system-how-do-we-maintain-our-balance/
World Health Organization. “Falls – Fact Sheet.” (latest update 2024). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/falls
