Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026
06:21
Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings
Published on: July 26, 2022
Anticipatory postural adjustments in children with typical motor development
Gay L Girolami1, Takako Shiratori, Alexander S Aruin
1Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Experimental Brain Research
|July 21, 2010
Summary
Children aged 7-16 with typical motor development can generate anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) for balance. They show task-specific muscle activation and center of pressure changes similar to adults.
Area of Science:
- Motor Control
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) are crucial for maintaining balance during voluntary movements.
- Limited research exists on how children utilize APAs during self-initiated postural challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the development and characteristics of APAs in typically developing children.
- To examine how children aged 7-16 years generate APAs in response to different arm movements.
Main Methods:
- Electromyography of trunk and leg muscles and center of pressure (COP) displacement were recorded.
- Children performed bilateral shoulder flexion/extension and reciprocal arm movements while standing on a force platform.
Main Results:
- Children exhibited distinct muscle activation patterns and COP displacements specific to the direction and type of arm movement (sagittal vs. transverse plane).
- APA strategies in children aged 7+ were comparable to those observed in adults, involving anticipatory muscle activation and suppression.
Conclusions:
- Typically developing children demonstrate mature APA generation by age 7.
- Children can produce task-specific muscle sequencing and differentiate postural control strategies based on perturbation type.
