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Updated: Nov 1, 2025
Evaluating Postural Control and Lower-extremity Muscle Activation in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability
Published on: September 18, 2020
Infants at risk for physical disability may be identified by measures of postural control in supine
Laura A Prosser1,2, Maria Ovando Aguirre3, Susan Zhao3
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. prosserl@chop.edu.
Insights
Quantitative measures of infant postural control can identify motor impairments early. Path length, a specific metric, showed consistent differences, suggesting its potential as an early marker for motor control issues in infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric neurology
- Developmental pediatrics
- Biomechanical analysis
Background:
- Early detection of motor function delay is crucial for timely intervention and prognosis in children.
- Assessing early postural control aids in identifying infants at risk for motor impairments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate biomechanical measures of early postural control in distinguishing infants with future motor impairment from typically developing peers.
- To explore the potential of quantitative infant movement analysis for early identification of motor disabilities.
Main Methods:
- Postural control was recorded from infants in a supine position under various conditions.
- Center of pressure metrics were compared between preterm and full-term infants, and between those with impaired versus typical motor control outcomes.
Main Results:
- Path length, one of seven postural control metrics, consistently differed between the groups across most conditions.
- This metric demonstrated a significant ability to differentiate between infants based on birth status and future motor outcome.
Conclusions:
- Quantitative measures of infant spontaneous movement, particularly center of pressure path length, show promise as early indicators of motor impairment risk.
- Further research is needed to confirm path length as an early marker of postural instability and to understand the underlying neuromotor mechanisms.
Background:
Early detection of delay or impairment in motor function is important to guide clinical management and inform prognosis during a critical window for the development of motor control in children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of biomechanical measures of early postural control to distinguish infants with future impairment in motor control from their typically developing peers.
Methods:
We recorded postural control from infants lying in supine in several conditions. We compared various center of pressure metrics between infants grouped by birth status (preterm and full term) and by future motor outcome (impaired motor control and typical motor control).
Results:
One of the seven postural control metrics-path length-was consistently different between groups for both group classifications and for the majority of conditions.
Conclusions:
Quantitative measures of early spontaneous infant movement may have promise to distinguish early in life between infants who are at risk for motor impairment or physical disability and those who will demonstrate typical motor control. Our observation that center of pressure path length may be a potential early marker of postural instability and motor control impairment needs further confirmation and further investigation to elucidate the responsible neuromotor mechanisms.
Impact:
The key message of this article is that quantitative measures of infant postural control in supine may have promise to distinguish between infants who will demonstrate future motor impairment and those who will demonstrate typical motor control. One of seven postural control metrics-path length-was consistently different between groups. This metric may be an early marker of postural instability in infants at risk for physical disability.
