Impairment and characteristics of postural control sub-components in people with COPD: a scoping review

PurposeImpairment of postural control is a common extra-respiratory manifestation in people with COPD. However, the precise characteristics of this alteration are not clearly known. The “Systems Framework for Postural Control” which define postural control sub-components, is a relevant tool to explore this field. The main aim of this review was to identify which postural control sub-components are impaired in patients with COPD and to summarize characteristics for each sub-component. A secondary aim was to precise the relation between postural control and activities of daily living.Materials and methodsA scoping review was conducted, according to the JBI methodology. Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Scielo, Google Scholar, Open Grey and HAL were searched from inception to March 2021. The search was performed in English and French.ResultsSeventy-seven articles were included. There was evidence of a potential impairment for most of the postural control sub-components. Characteristics of every sub-component alteration were heterogeneous. Even if the relation was poorly studied, reduced postural control seemed to be associate with difficulties in activities of daily living.ConclusionPatients with COPD could experiment impairment among a wide range of postural control sub-components. Future research must clarify if a common pattern of modification exits for this alteration.Implications for rehabilitationImpairment of postural control is a common extra-respiratory manifestation in patients with COPD and so clinicians must include it in their clinical reasoningNumerous postural control sub-components could be altered in patients with COPD, suggesting that postural control assessment must be holistic.This scoping review shows that characteristics of postural control impairment are varied and that there may be no common pattern at the COPD population level.