Postural sway changes during static standing with concurrent task in children with traumatic brain injury

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomechanics
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can impact motor and cognitive functions.
• Postural control is crucial for daily activities and can be affected by TBI.
• Concurrent task performance (dual-tasking) is common in everyday life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how concurrent motor and cognitive tasks affect postural control in children with TBI.
• To compare the postural control performance of children with TBI to typically developing (TD) children under dual-task conditions.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 16 children with TBI and 22 TD children (aged 11-12 years).
• Participants performed static standing under single-task, concurrent motor task, and concurrent cognitive task conditions.
• Postural control was assessed using measures like sway area and velocity via the APDM Mobility Lab system.

Main Results:

• Children with TBI demonstrated significantly greater deterioration in postural control compared to TD children (p<0.05).
• Both concurrent motor and cognitive tasks reduced postural control in both groups.
• The negative impact of dual-tasking on postural control was more pronounced in children with TBI.

Conclusions:

• Performing concurrent motor and cognitive tasks while standing significantly impairs postural control.
• Children with TBI exhibit more substantial postural control deficits under dual-task conditions.
• The combined cognitive and balance impairments in TBI likely increase the attentional demands of concurrent tasks.