The Impact of External Dorsal Stream Visual Feedback on LE Excursion in Healthy Individuals

Background and Purpose: Approximately 596 per 100,000 people experience lower extremity injuries in the United States each year.1 Lower extremity (LE) injuries are common injuries experienced by athletes and laypeople and are commonly treated by physical therapists. For moderate or severe injuries, returning to sports or daily activities may take up to 8 weeks. Subsequently, a person with an injury may have altered motor control post-injury. Recent research suggests that the implementation of visual feedback during balance-related activities may result in up-training the dorsal visual stream and result in improved stability and balance abilities.2 Evidence to support this mode of training is limited and has not been triangulated to standard lower extremity measures used by physical therapists.3 Methods: A two-group Quasi-Experimental study, using pre- and post-intervention measures, will be used. Healthy college students who wish to volunteer for testing will be assessed for their amount of lower-extremity excursion using the Y-Balance measure, before and after basic practice of single-leg squatting. One group will then receive a task-specific practice of single-leg squatting, while one group will receive a task-specific practice of single-leg squatting with the use of visual feedback. Each group will have baseline measures of hip strength, and LE excursion taken. Results: Basic de-identified demographic data will be collected. Changes in pre- and post-intervention LE Excursion will be analyzed to determine any significant change resulting from the use of visual feedback training.