On the Functional Aspects of Variability in Postural Control

VAN EMMERIK, R.E.A., and E.E.H. VAN WEGEN. On the functional aspects of variability in postural control. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev., Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 177–183, 2002. Current research in nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory has challenged traditional perspectives that associate high variability with performance decrement and pathology. It is argued that variability can play a functional role in postural control and that reduction of variability is associated with changes in balance with aging and neurological disease.