Poster #162 - Plasticity of postural control development in children and young adolescents.

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Perceptual, Sensory, Motor

Integrative Statement

Postural control has a protracted rate of development. For example, a recent study showed that postural control in mediolateral axis develops until late adolescence (Blanchet, 2018). This long lasting development of postural control can be influenced by children’s postural experiences (adaptive plasticity). Sports practice, such as kicking sports (KS) that include a variety of body weight transfers and single leg stances while receiving a large amount of destabilizing force improved balance and sensory control functions in children (Fong, 2012; Vando, 2013; Suzana, 2009; Violan, 1997). However, these effects have been mainly examined for static postural control. Whether the dynamic postural control and stability limits development is also influenced by specific sport experience in children is not known.
The objective of this study was to examine the effects of KS experience on stability limits, that is the maximum voluntary inclined posture without stepping or falling (Mancinni, 2008) in 33 children and young adolescents (8-15 years old). A second objective was to examine the effects of KS experience on sensory processing in postural control in children.
KS trained participants had up to 3 years (3h/week) of KS experience (Karate or Taekwondo). At the start of each trial, participants stood barefoot on an AMTI force plate. Starting from an upright position, subjects were asked to lean as far as possible in four directions (forward, backward, rightward, leftward) and maintain this position for 10 s. Three sensory conditions were tested: a) opened eyes, b) closed eyes c) closed eyes while standing on a foam. The foam condition with closed eyes was used both to decrease plantar pressure sensations and to increase instability, especially at the ankle joint (Wu, 1996; Blanchet, 2014). The purpose of this condition was also to test the stability limits of participants when they were forced to use fine time varying ankle proprioceptive signals to control their upright posture. The maximal center of pressure (COP) excursion (maximal stability limits) and the root means square (RMS) COP displacements (postural stability) were analyzed in the axis and in the opposite axis of leaning movement during two phases. The beginning of phase 1 was defined as the first time the COP moved in the opposite direction to the voluntary leaning movement and ended at the 5th second of maximum leaning. This initial portion of the maximal leaning may reflect, in part, planning mechanisms or anticipation. Phase 2 occurs during the last 5 s of maximum leaning. This second phase may reflect the contribution of an on-line postural control mechanism (Blanchet, 2014).
Results showed that KS trained children and young adolescents had inferior RMS COP displacement in both axes and larger maximal COP excursion than control participants only in mediolateral directions in all sensory conditions during both phases. Furthermore, in the second phase, the RMS in both axes was inferior in the foam condition in KS trained participants, compared to control ones. These results indicate that specific sport experience improved children’s and young adolescents’ postural control in mediolateral axis as well as proprioceptive control of posture.

Authors

• Marieve Blanchet, Université du Québec à Montréal
  Presenting Author

• François Prince, Université de Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author