Postural rehabilitation within the VRRS (virtual reality rehabilitation system) environment

Postural control has been defined as the ability to maintain, achieve or restore a state of balance during any posture or activity (van Diest et al. in J Neuroeng Rehabil 10:101, [1]; Pollock et al. in Clin Rehabil 14:402–406, [2]). Appropriate postural control is an absolute pre-requisite for activities of daily living and requires several different motor skills to be effective. To maintain a stable upright stance, with adaptive strategies for orientation and balance, information processed through the somatosensory (70%), visual (10%) and vestibular (20%) systems needs to be integrated (Horak in Age Ageing 35(Suppl 2):ii7–ii11, [3]; Laughton et al. in Gait Posture 18:101–108, [4]), and a complex interplay between sensory and motor systems (Bekkers et al. in Front Hum Neurosci 8:939, [5]) is required in order to control the multisegmental body system and interlimb coupling (Jancová in Acta Med Hradec Král Univ Carol Fac Med Hradec Král 51:129–137, [6]).