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Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
Published on: September 11, 2019
An emerging postural response: is control of the hip possible in the newly walking child?
Maria Nida C Roncesvalles1, Marjorie H Woollacott, Nicholas Brown
1Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Insights
Young children develop active postural control as they gain walking experience. Older children use muscle responses to maintain balance, unlike earlier walkers who rely on passive movements.
Area of Science:
- Developmental motor control
- Biomechanics of balance
- Pediatric postural responses
Background:
- Previous research suggested young children (1-2 years) lack control over hip-dominant postural responses due to slow muscle latencies.
- This limitation was thought to hinder their ability to react to balance threats.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the development of postural control in children.
- To test the hypothesis that young children cannot control hip-dominant responses to balance threats.
Main Methods:
- 41 children (10 months to 10 years) experienced unexpected backward support-surface translations.
- Muscle activations and movement kinematics were recorded during postural adjustments.
- Participants stood on a moving platform to elicit balance responses.
Main Results:
- Least experienced walkers exhibited passive hip-dominant postural responses.
- Older children demonstrated active responses with increased abdominal and quadriceps muscle activity.
- Greater success in managing larger balance perturbations correlated with active hip responses.
Conclusions:
- Postural control strategies evolve with age and walking experience.
- Active hip responses, involving specific muscle activations, are crucial for effective balance control in older children.
- Children's ability to actively manage balance threats improves significantly with development.
Abstract:
Previous researchers have proposed that because of their slow muscle-response latencies, 1- to 2-year-old children are unable to control hip-dominant postural responses when responding to balance threats (G. McCollum & T. Leen, 1989). To test that proposition, the authors exposed 41 children to backward support-surface translations and recorded muscle activations and movement kinematics. Children between 10 months and 10 years of age stood on a platform that was unexpectedly moved. Passive hip-dominant responses were observed among the least experienced walkers. In contrast, older children produced an active response, signified by higher levels of abdominal and quadriceps muscle activity and accompanied by larger hip flexor torques. Greater success in withstanding large magnitudes of perturbations were associated with actively generated hip responses.
