Reduced contralateral center of pressure displacement during lateral weight-shifting in patients with lateropulsion after acute brainstem infarction

BACKGROUND: The center of pressure (COP) position in lateropulsion cases has been reported to deviate toward the lateropulsion side and then shift toward the non-lateropulsion side during recovery. However, research on dynamic postural control in patients with lateropulsion is limited, and the kinematic characteristics remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics of dynamic postural control in patients with lateropulsion following acute brainstem infarction by comparing COP displacement during a lateral weight-shifting task. METHODS: = 12) lateropulsion groups based on the Grading of Lateropulsion. The main outcomes were maximum lateral COP displacement on the lateropulsion and non-lateropulsion sides during a 30-s lateral weight-shifting task. The COP symmetry index was calculated as follows: [(lateropulsion - non-lateropulsion)/(lateropulsion + non-lateropulsion)] × 100. Balance was evaluated using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS). RESULTS: < 0.001, d = 2.020) than those of the mild lateropulsion group. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with lateropulsion after acute brainstem infarction, COP displacement toward the non-lateropulsion side was smaller than that toward the lateropulsion side during a dynamic standing task, with greater asymmetry in patients with more severe lateropulsion.