Effect of additional somatosensory feedback on postural control during walking

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Fingertip light touch (LT) to a fixed surface, in quiet standing, substantially reduces postural sway, due to an enhanced somatosensory feedback. To further shed light on this additional feedback, we assessed the LT effect in normal walking. We found that, in young subjects, medio-lateral body fluctuation was attenuated by the LT. Touch force and fingertip position preceded the body sway in the EC condition, indicating the contribution of fingertip proprioceptive feedback. The effect of LT in normal walking was also confirmed for elderly subjects. In the next, based on these results, we developed a new cane, injecting noise-like stimulation to the skin surface.