TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Usefulness of the tri-axial accelerometer for assessing balance function in children
JO  - Pediatrics international
A1  - Eguchi, Ryota
A1  - Takada, Satoshi
SP  - 753
EP  - 758
VL  - 56
IS  - 5
N2  - 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>
LA  - en
SN  - 1328-8067
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ped.12370
ID  - ref1
ER  -