The Effect of Auditory Cues on Static Postural Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize the results related to the effects of auditory cues on static postural control. Methods: MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, LILACS, CINAHL, CENTRAL, Web of Science, PEDro, and Google Scholar were searched from inception until September 2020. Risk of bias was evaluated by both reviewers using Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS). Results: Twelve studies with 403 participants were included in the review and 9 studies with 305 participants in the meta-analysis. Results show that auditory cues have significant effects on postural sway in the anterior-posterior direction (p = 0.001), postural sway in the medial-lateral direction (p = 0.001), and static balance (p = 0.001). A low to high heterogeneity was observed across all comparisons. Conclusions: Results of this meta-analysis revealed that auditory cues decrease postural sway in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral direction; it also improves static balance. Thus, it can be concluded that auditory cues improve static postural control. Our results suggest that the auditory system can be a determinant of static postural control along with other sensory systems including visual, vestibular, and proprioception systems. Also, this study implies that auditory cues can be a significant therapeutic approach to improve static postural control.