My spell as a lab rat is over! I did my final session on Monday morning. It was quite different to the other ones and much more enjoyable. Instead of sitting down, wired up with electrodes and getting the occasional stimulus (loud noise / electric shock!) this was conducted in a different room and mainly involved standing on one leg.

The special thing was that there was a pressure-measuring plate on the floor and so the researcher could track how I made tiny movements trying to maintain my balance. Most of the balancing was easy and more so when I was performing cognitive tasks (clicking a mouse on colour changes or memorising a short sequence of numbers). Apparently, in older patients that is more likely to switch, with extra thinking making balance worse rather than letting the subconscious take over. The other part involved some jumping and then balancing, either from a short distance or from a small (20cm?) height.

It still wasn’t the most fun I could imagine having but it was the least arduous of the sessions and I think a good design to include that as the conclusion. I’m looking forward to being sent a copy of the results in due course although that could take a while – data collection should finish this June (still time for reasonably healthy local people to sign up!) and then the write-up and publication process can take a few months. It will be a small contribution to the world of medical science but hopefully there will be some insights which can make a positive difference to the care and support of people experiencing balance issues.