Premium
Postural balance measurements for children and adolescents
Author(s) -
Wolff Don R.,
Rose Jessica,
Jones V. K.,
Bloch Daniel A.,
Oehlert John W.,
Gamble James G.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.1100160215
Subject(s) - balance (ability) , psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , developmental psychology , medicine
Measurements of standing balance were determined for 92 children and adolescents, 5–18 years old, while they stood on a force plate with eyes open or eyes closed. The measurements included center‐of‐pressure calculations for path length per second, average radial displacement, anterior‐posterior and me‐diolateral amplitudes, area per second, mean frequency of sway, Brownian random motion measure of short‐term diffusion coefficient, and long‐term scaling exponent. All balance parameters improved from youngest to oldest subjects, and the parameters improved when measured with the subjects' eyes open compared with closed. The mean values for data from three trials varied by only 5% when compared with the mean values from 10 trials. Data from this study suggest that force‐plate center‐of‐pressure data can be used to determine differences in standing balance between children and adolescents of different ages and those with movement and balance abnormalities.