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Form and variability during sit-to-stand transitions: children versus adults
Phyllis L Guarrera-Bowlby1, A M Gentile
1Department of Physical Therapy, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark and Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. bowlby@umdnj.edu.
Journal of Motor Behavior
|February 10, 2004
Summary
Young children exhibit similar sit-to-stand movement patterns to adults but with less consistency. This variability in motor control highlights developmental differences in internal model stabilization during childhood.
Area of Science:
- Motor control and development
- Biomechanics
- Developmental psychology
Background:
- The sit-to-stand (STS) movement is fundamental for daily activities.
- Young children are expected to perform STS similarly to adults, but motor control differences may affect consistency.
- Refinement of motor control processes is crucial for consistent movement execution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the movement form and consistency of the sit-to-stand transition between young children and adults.
- To investigate age-related differences in motor control during a functional movement task.
Main Methods:
- Kinematic analysis was used to assess 10 repetitions of the sit-to-stand movement.
- Participants included 6 typically developing children (6-7 years old) and 6 adults.
- Analysis focused on joint onsets, segmental motion duration, and angle-angle plots.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were found between children and adults in the sequence of joint onsets, proportional duration of segmental motion, or angle-angle plots.
- Children exhibited significantly higher within-participant variability (twice that of adults) in kinematic measures, indicating poorer movement consistency.
- This suggests children have not yet refined the internal model for intersegmental dynamics stabilization.
Conclusions:
- While children can achieve an adult-like movement form for sit-to-stand, their motor control is less consistent.
- The higher variability in children reflects an immature internal model for intersegmental dynamics.
- Ongoing changes in body morphology during childhood necessitate continuous updating of the internal model, posing an additional control challenge.