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Development of postural control of gravity forces in children during the first 5 years of walking

Y Brenière1, B Bril

  • 1Laboratoire de Physiologie du Mouvement, ER-CNRS 124, Université Paris-sud, Orsay, France. yvon.breniere@lpm.u-psud.fr

Experimental Brain Research
|September 24, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Researchers developed new indexes to measure balance control in young children. Postural capacity for controlling gravity forces, measured by center of mass vertical acceleration, is not fully developed until 5-6 years old.

Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • Assessing postural control in children is crucial for understanding motor development.
  • Existing methods may not fully capture the dynamic interplay of forces during early walking.
  • Force-plate analysis offers a quantitative approach to evaluate balance and gait.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose novel developmental indexes for quantifying balance and gravity force control in children.
  • To analyze the development of postural capacity and gait coordination during the first five years of independent walking.
  • To establish the age at which children achieve mature postural control for balance.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal analysis of five children over eight sessions, covering 457 step sequences.
  • Utilized force-plate data to measure the vertical acceleration of the center of mass (CM) at foot contact.
  • Defined a second index based on the covariation between CM vertical acceleration and gait velocity.

Main Results:

  • Vertical acceleration of the CM at foot contact was proposed as a developmental index for postural capacity.
  • This index, reflecting muscular control of gravitational forces, showed developmental progression.
  • The covariation between CM acceleration and gait velocity indicated developing coordination.

Conclusions:

  • Children's postural capacity to control balance using leg muscles is not fully developed until 4-5 years of independent walking (approx. 5-6 years of age).
  • The proposed indexes provide quantitative measures for assessing developmental milestones in pediatric motor control.
  • Further research can refine these indexes for clinical and developmental assessments.

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