Interconnected lines forming a human figure balanced on a tightrope, representing postural control.

Unlock Your Body's Secrets: How Posture Affects Everything

Avery Sinclair in Health & Wellness November 2025 • 4 min read.

"Balance isn't just about standing straight. Discover how postural adjustments impact motor skills and overall well-being, influencing everyone from athletes to older adults."

We all strive for balance in our lives, but what about the literal balance that keeps us upright and moving? Maintaining balance is fundamental to our daily activities and how well we perform them. Think about it: every time you reach for a cup of coffee, walk down the street, or even sit at your desk, your body is constantly making tiny adjustments to stay stable.

Humans are constantly under the influence of gravity, which, without compensation, would lead to postural destabilization. External forces, such as movement in a train, can also affect balance. Even voluntary movements like moving your fingers can create internal forces that require compensation. To remain steady, the body uses coordinated muscle activation patterns known as "postural adjustments."

This article explores the fascinating link between these subtle postural adjustments, our ability to balance, and our overall motor performance. We'll examine recent research involving diverse groups, from young athletes to older adults, to understand how postural control works in both healthy individuals and those with specific health conditions.

How Do Postural Adjustments Work?

Interconnected lines forming a human figure balanced on a tightrope, representing postural control.

Recent studies highlight the intricate mechanisms behind postural adjustments and their connection to various sensory inputs. Vision, the vestibular system (inner ear), and mechanoreceptors (sensory receptors in muscles and joints) are critical in maintaining balance. How our bodies weigh and integrate these signals determines our postural control.

Sensory integration plays a key role in postural maintenance and movement. Studies show that even slight changes in sensory input can significantly impact balance:

Ankle Vibration Studies: Vibrating tendons around the ankle can affect a person's ability to point accurately at a target, showing how proprioception (body awareness) influences motor planning.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) Research: EDS, characterized by hypermobility and impaired proprioception, alters how people perceive verticality and maintain postural stability. Somatosensory orthotics (compressive garments and insoles) can help offset these impairments.
Age and Activity Level: Older adults are more susceptible to balance disturbances on unstable surfaces compared to younger adults, likely due to age-related changes in the feet.

Research emphasizes that sensory signals from vision, the inner ear, and mechanoreceptors are vital for postural control. It also highlights how postural constraints can affect sensory information processing in the brain.

Why Understanding Posture Matters

Understanding the mechanisms behind postural control is crucial for developing new and better ways to improve stability and motor performance. This knowledge has wide-ranging applications, from helping people with neurodegenerative conditions to enhancing athletic performance and preventing falls in older adults. By focusing on the interaction between postural control, movement, and cognitive function, we can significantly improve overall well-being and quality of life.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00487, Alternate LINK

Title: Editorial: The Contribution Of Postural Adjustments To Body Balance And Motor Performance

Subject: Behavioral Neuroscience

Journal: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Authors: Eric Yiou, Alain Hamaoui, Gilles Allali

Published: 2018-12-05

Everything You Need To Know

How do postural adjustments actually work to keep us balanced?

Postural adjustments work through a complex integration of sensory inputs. Vision provides information about the environment, the vestibular system in the inner ear detects head movements and orientation, and mechanoreceptors in muscles and joints sense body position and movement. The brain integrates these signals to coordinate muscle activation patterns, enabling the body to maintain balance and stability. Disruptions to any of these sensory inputs, such as through ankle vibration or conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, can impair postural control.

Why is maintaining balance such a fundamental aspect of our physical well-being?

Maintaining balance is essential because humans are constantly subject to gravity and external forces that can cause postural destabilization. The body relies on postural adjustments, which are coordinated muscle activation patterns, to counteract these forces. Without these adjustments, even simple movements like reaching for an object or walking would be difficult. Moreover, effective postural control is crucial for performing motor tasks efficiently and safely, and for preventing falls, especially in older adults.

How does Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) specifically impact postural stability, and what interventions can help?

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) affects postural stability due to the hypermobility and impaired proprioception associated with the condition. Individuals with EDS may have difficulty accurately perceiving verticality and maintaining balance. Somatosensory orthotics, like compressive garments and insoles, can provide additional sensory input to compensate for these impairments, helping to improve postural control and stability in individuals with EDS. Research in this area shows how crucial proprioception is to postural control.

What are the broader implications of understanding postural control for improving human health and performance?

Understanding postural control is important for developing interventions to improve stability and motor performance in various populations. This knowledge can be applied to enhance athletic performance by optimizing movement patterns, to prevent falls in older adults by addressing age-related changes in sensory systems, and to rehabilitate individuals with neurodegenerative conditions by improving their balance and coordination. The research emphasizes the importance of sensory information processing in the brain and demonstrates how focusing on the interaction between postural control, movement, and cognitive function can improve overall well-being.

In what specific ways are postural adjustments important for optimizing athletic performance?

Postural adjustments are crucial for athletic performance because they enable athletes to maintain balance and stability during complex movements. Efficient postural control allows athletes to execute skills with precision and power, while minimizing the risk of injury. By understanding how vision, the vestibular system, and mechanoreceptors contribute to postural control, coaches and trainers can develop targeted interventions to improve an athlete's balance, coordination, and overall athletic performance. Furthermore, postural constraints should also be considered for how they can affect sensory information processing in the brain.