ABSTRACT
Humans rely on numerous sensomotoric systems to maintain upright static posture and dynamic balance during locomotion. The sensory input from vestibular organs, vision, proprioceptive receptors (muscle spindles, stretch reflexes), and exteroceptive tactile cues (pressure) are rapidly and accurately processed by the central nervous system (Claussen, 1986; Nienstedt et al., 1986). When posture and balance are challenged, for instance during a sudden slip or trip, then a coordinated neuromuscular motor response is needed to re-establish the balance and to avoid a fall and subsequent injury. This motor control aims at regulating more than 700 muscles in a multi-link system including more than 200 degrees of freedom (Era et al., 1997).
