Development of postural control in healthy children: a functional approach
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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Experimental Methods to Study Human Postural Control
Published on: September 11, 2019
Christine Assaiante1, Sophie Mallau, Sébastien Viel
1DPA Group, UMR 6196, CNRS, 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier 13402 Marseille, France. christine.assaiante@dpm.cnrs-mrs.fr
Insights
Children develop balance control strategies throughout childhood, initially relying on the pelvis and progressing to more complex trunk-based orientation. Learning to select appropriate strategies is key for maintaining balance.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Postural control development in children is complex, involving biomechanical and central nervous system (CNS) maturation.
- Early balance strategies in young children prioritize pelvic stability during locomotion.
- Head stabilization is a critical motor skill that matures significantly during childhood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ontogenesis of equilibrium strategies in children.
- To differentiate between biomechanical and CNS-driven factors in postural strategy development.
- To examine adaptation capacities of the CNS under various biomechanical constraints.
Main Methods:
- Experimental studies on children performing posturokinetic tasks.
- Analysis of adaptation to transient external biomechanical constraints in healthy children.
- Assessment of adaptation in children with skeletal pathologies (chronic internal constraints).
Main Results:
- The pelvis serves as the primary reference frame for balance control in early childhood locomotion.
- Postural control evolves from an egocentric to an exocentric frame, with the trunk becoming a key reference.
- Children first build a repertoire of postural strategies, then learn to select them based on movement anticipation.
Conclusions:
- Children's postural development involves establishing a range of balance strategies and learning adaptive selection.
- The maturation of the CNS is crucial for developing sophisticated postural control and orientation.
- Anticipating movement consequences is essential for efficient balance maintenance and task performance in children.
Abstract:
From a set of experimental studies showing how intersegmental coordination develops during childhood in various posturokinetic tasks, we have established a repertoire of equilibrium strategies in the course of ontogenesis. The experimental data demonstrate that the first reference frame used for the organization of balance control during locomotion is the pelvis, especially in young children. Head stabilization during posturokinetic activities, particularly locomotion, constitutes a complex motor skill requiring a long time to develop during childhood. When studying the emergence of postural strategies, it is essential to distinguish between results that can be explained by biomechanical reasons strictly and those reflecting the maturation of the central nervous system (CNS). To address this problem, we have studied our young subjects in situations requiring various types of adaptation. The studies dealing with adaptation of postural strategies aimed at testing short and long-term adaptation capacity of the CNS during imposed transient external biomechanical constraints in healthy children, and during chronic internal constraints in children with skeletal pathologies. In addition to maintenance of balance, another function of posture is to ensure the orientation of a body segment. It appears that the control of orientation and the control of balance both require the trunk as an initial reference frame involving a development from egocentric to exocentric postural control. It is concluded that the first step for children consists in building a repertoire of postural strategies, and the second step consists in learning to select the most appropriate postural strategy, depending on the ability to anticipate the consequence of the movement in order to maintain balance control and the efficiency of the task.
