The Relationship between the Presence of Phoria and Postural Control during Walking

Abstract

[Purpose] Although phoria is present in multiple healthy individuals and is considered a postural instability factor in static standing conditions, its effect on gait remains elusive. In this study, we aimed at determining how phoria affects gait parameters. [Subjects] We included 22 non-phoria and 52 phoria holders in this study. [Method] The measurements included walking speed under the two conditions of optimal and fastest gait and Center of Pressure (COP) -related data: single support line, gait line length, anterior/posterior position, anterior/posterior variability, lateral symmetry, and lateral variability. We performed statistical analysis using Student’s t-test for the between-group comparisons of each measure. We set the significance level at 1.7%. [Results] Phoria holders showed greater changes in the position of the center of pressure (COP) during walking than did non-holders. [Conclusion] Our results suggest that walking in individuals with phoria is associated with COP-related walking parameters.