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Hip stabilization and lateral balance control in toddlers during the first four months of autonomous walking
C Assaiante1, B Thomachot, R Aurenty
1Unité de Neurobiologie et Mouvements du CNRS, Marseille, France.
Insights
Toddlers develop hip stabilization within the first week of walking, followed by shoulder stabilization by the second month. Head stabilization emerges later, indicating progressive lateral balance control development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biomechanics
- Pediatric motor control
Background:
- Early childhood walking involves complex inter-segmental coordination.
- Understanding balance control development is crucial for identifying developmental milestones.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate hip, shoulder, and head coordination during early autonomous walking.
- To examine the development of locomotor balance control in the frontal plane.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of inter-segmental coordination in toddlers during the first four months of walking.
- Assessment of frontal plane balance control efficiency.
Main Results:
- Hip stabilization in space observed within the first week of walking.
- Shoulder stabilization in space became effective by the second month.
- No significant head stabilization (in space or relative to shoulders) by the fourth month.
Conclusions:
- Early hip stabilization suggests a foundational element in developing balance.
- Ascending progression in lateral balance control ability with age is indicated.
- Further research needed on head stabilization development.
Abstract:
The main purpose of the present paper was to investigate the inter-segmental coordinations between hip, shoulder and head, in toddlers, during the first four months of autonomous walking. The efficiency of locomotor balance control was examined in the frontal plane. The main result to emerge from this study is that the hip stabilization in space appears as soon as the first week of autonomous walking, while shoulder stabilization in space appears to be effective only at the second month. Finally, no preferred head stabilization, either in space or on shoulders, has appeared by the end of the fourth month. These results seem to indicate, from an early hip stabilization, an ascending progression with age of the ability to control lateral balance during locomotion.