What are anticipatory postural adjustments?

Prepare for the essential 636 Period 3 Motor Final Test with comprehensive flashcards and detailed questions. Access explanations and hints for each question to ace your exam!

Multiple Choice

What are anticipatory postural adjustments?

Anticipatory postural adjustments are automatic, pre-programmed changes in posture designed to keep balance before a voluntary movement. They are feed-forward preparations the nervous system makes to counteract the expected shift in the body's center of gravity as you move. For example, before lifting your arm or reaching forward, muscles in the feet, legs, hips, and trunk activate in advance to stabilize you so the movement doesn’t knock you off balance. This pre-movement activity distinguishes them from reactive responses that happen after a disturbance, or adjustments that occur after a movement ends. Vision can influence balance, but the defining feature is that these adjustments occur before the movement as part of planning to maintain stability.

Anticipatory postural adjustments are automatic, pre-programmed changes in posture designed to keep balance before a voluntary movement. They are feed-forward preparations the nervous system makes to counteract the expected shift in the body's center of gravity as you move. For example, before lifting your arm or reaching forward, muscles in the feet, legs, hips, and trunk activate in advance to stabilize you so the movement doesn’t knock you off balance. This pre-movement activity distinguishes them from reactive responses that happen after a disturbance, or adjustments that occur after a movement ends. Vision can influence balance, but the defining feature is that these adjustments occur before the movement as part of planning to maintain stability.

More practice questions