Postural control adjustments during progressive inclination of the support surface in children

Abstract

One of the most important postural challenges in daily life is to continuously correct the destabilizing torque due to gravity that accelerates the body further away from the upright position. This study examined children's (7.9 years old) (n=7) and adults' (n=10) capacity to generate continuous corrective torque during a progressive perturbation. The experimental task was to maintain an upright quiet standing on a platform that gradually and slowly toes-down tilted to a maximum of 14° without visual cues. The vertical forces applied on the platform and the electromyograms from the tibialis anterior and the gastrocnemius were measured. The results showed that children had a different postural response to the perturbation than adults. When the platform was stationary before the inclination, children shifted their body weight backward whereas adults had a more balanced distribution of their weight. During the inclination, children applied a stronger forward force, suggesting a larger postero-anterior displacement of their body weight. Muscular activities were higher in children for both the tibialis anterior and the gastrocnemius, and their tibialis anterior activation profile was different. In conclusion, this study showed that in children aged from 7 to 10 years old neuromuscular responses were not mature enough to generate continuous postural corrective torque in response to the perturbation.