Award Date

5-2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Department

Nursing

First Committee Member

Patricia Alpert, Chair

Second Committee Member

Susan Kowalski

Third Committee Member

Margaret Louis

Graduate Faculty Representative

Chad Cross

Number of Pages

76

Abstract

The integration of visual, vestibular, and somatosensory components are used to maintain one's postural balance. Postural control changes over time and body sway increases with age. The different sensory systems begin to develop and refine starting when children are young, while in older adults it begins to decline. Hence, it is important to study the changes that occur in postural balance. There is very little known about balance of younger adults. If balance issues are identified early in adult life it is possible to prevent exacerbation of balance decline as one ages. If nurse practitioners are aware of what dominant sensory systems for balance young adults use, perhaps strategies to preserve these can avoid falls as they age. The purpose of the study is to examine what sensory system predominates to maintain balance (e.g., visual, vestibular, and somatosensory) among people in their twenties and thirties.

Keywords

Adults; Equilibrium (Physiology); Ages 20s and 30s; Exercise; Human beings -- Attitude and movement; Postural balance; Posture; Sensory organization test; Sensory systems; Young adults; Young Population

Disciplines

Nursing

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Nursing Commons

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