TY - JOUR
KW - balance control
KW - Digital health
KW - Smartphone
KW - single leg stance
KW - leprosy
AU - de Oliveira Farias IL
AU - Chaves ECR
AU - Salomão RC
AU - Mendes F
AU - Costa LADA
AU - Brito AL
AU - Silva ADACE
AU - Cabral ADS
AU - Belgamo A
AU - França SADS
AU - Sousa AAD
AU - Callegari B
AU - Xavier MB
AU - Souza GS
AB - <p><strong>Aim</strong></p>

<p>To evaluate balance control in individuals with leprosy across different postural conditions and to investigate the feasibility of smartphone-based inertial sensors as an accessible tool for assessing postural stability in this population.</p>

<p><strong>Methods</strong></p>

<p>Fifty-seven participants were included, comprising 35 controls and 22 individuals with leprosy. Multiple stability features were extracted from the accelerometer time series recorded in each case.</p>

<p><strong>Results</strong></p>

<p>Under eyes-open conditions, neither bipedal nor unipedal stance tasks showed significant differences between groups, despite the increased postural demand of the unipedal condition. However, during a bipedal stance with eyes closed, individuals with leprosy demonstrated significantly greater postural instability, as reflected by higher amplitude and frequency-domain measures.</p>

<p><strong>Conclusions</strong></p>

<p>Contrary to our initial hypothesis, reducing the base of support through unipedal stance did not enhance group discrimination. Instead, the absence of visual input proved more sensitive, suggesting that visual compensation may mask proprioceptive deficits even under mechanically challenging conditions.</p>

BT - Leprosy Review
DA - 06/2026
DO - 10.47276/lr.97.2.2026011
IS - 2
LA - ENG
M3 - Article 
N2 - <p><strong>Aim</strong></p>

<p>To evaluate balance control in individuals with leprosy across different postural conditions and to investigate the feasibility of smartphone-based inertial sensors as an accessible tool for assessing postural stability in this population.</p>

<p><strong>Methods</strong></p>

<p>Fifty-seven participants were included, comprising 35 controls and 22 individuals with leprosy. Multiple stability features were extracted from the accelerometer time series recorded in each case.</p>

<p><strong>Results</strong></p>

<p>Under eyes-open conditions, neither bipedal nor unipedal stance tasks showed significant differences between groups, despite the increased postural demand of the unipedal condition. However, during a bipedal stance with eyes closed, individuals with leprosy demonstrated significantly greater postural instability, as reflected by higher amplitude and frequency-domain measures.</p>

<p><strong>Conclusions</strong></p>

<p>Contrary to our initial hypothesis, reducing the base of support through unipedal stance did not enhance group discrimination. Instead, the absence of visual input proved more sensitive, suggesting that visual compensation may mask proprioceptive deficits even under mechanically challenging conditions.</p>

PB - Lepra
PY - 2026
SP - 1 
EP -  11
T2 - Leprosy Review
TI - Static balance control assessment for double and single leg stance in leprosy: an approach using inertial sensors from smartphones
UR - https://leprosyreview.org/article/97/2/20-26011
VL - 97
SN - 2162-8807
ER -