%0 Journal Article
%T Usefulness of the tri-axial accelerometer for assessing balance function in children
%J Pediatrics international
%D 2014
%A Eguchi, Ryota
%A Takada, Satoshi
%V 56
%N 5
%P 753-758
%X BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to verify whether the tri-axial accelerometer can be used for quantitatively evaluating balance function in children. <br><br>METHODS: In total, 198 participants, including 172 healthy children aged 3-11 years (87 boys, 85 girls) and 26 young adults aged 21-24 years (7 men, 19 women), were enrolled in this study. The participants undertook three types of balance tasks: quiet standing with eyes open and closed, one-leg standing on the dominant leg (D-leg) and non-dominant leg (ND-leg), and walking on the floor and a balance beam. We derived the root mean square from participants' accelerations measured by the tri-axial accelerometer. <br><br>RESULTS: We found that for quiet standing, one-leg standing, and walking tasks, postural sway decreased with age. Girls controlled their posture better than boys of the same age on all tasks. There was a significant gender difference in quiet standing for children aged 8-9 years. Furthermore, gender differences existed in one-leg standing for children aged 5-11 years. A mild positive correlation was observed between static and dynamic balance. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The tri-axial accelerometer is a useful quantitative tool for evaluating both static and dynamic balance function in children. Thus, it has the potential to be used clinically for diagnosis and rehabilitation.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I John Wiley and Sons
%@ 1328-8067
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ped.12370