Relationships between task-oriented postural control and motor ability in children and adolescents with Down syndrome.
Stronger legs and better gait equal smaller reach-time sway in Down syndrome teens.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Wang et al. (2012) watched teens with Down syndrome stand on a force plate.
Each teen reached for a toy while cameras tracked how much their body swayed.
The team also tested each teen’s strength, standing balance, and walking skills.
They asked: do better motor scores link to smaller sway during the reach?
What they found
Yes. Teens who scored higher on standing, walking, and strength tests wobbled less.
The sway pattern was unique to Down syndrome, but the link to motor skill was clear.
Better motor ability predicted smaller center-of-pressure shifts during the reach.
How this fits with other research
Rigoldi et al. (2011) first showed that kids and adults with Down syndrome use faster side-to-side corrections. Hui-Yi adds that stronger legs and better gait can cut those corrections.
Villarroya et al. (2012) found teens with Down syndrome have poor quiet stance. Hui-Yi shows the same teens can steady themselves if they have solid locomotor and strength scores.
Dudley et al. (2019) later gave kids a dual-task during sit-to-stand and saw sway drop, hinting at a stiffening trick. Hui-Yi’s data suggest building strength and gait may give teens more ways to stiffen or adjust without falling.
Perry et al. (2024) proved dance training tightens sway in adults. Hui-Yi’s motor-score link supports early strength-and-gait work that could feed into such long-term programs.
Why it matters
You now have a quick screen: test standing, walking, and leg strength. Low scores flag the clients who will sway most during daily reaches. Add gait and strength drills first; they may shrink sway before you add complex balance toys.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have been characterized by greater postural sway in quiet stance and insufficient motor ability. However, there is a lack of studies to explore the properties of dynamic postural sway, especially under conditions of task-oriented movement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between task-oriented postural control and motor ability in children and adolescents with DS. The participants were 23 children and adolescents with DS (DS group, M±SD age, 14.4±2.8 years) and 18 age- and gender-matched peers (M±SD age, 13.8±3.6 years). A force plate was used to collect postural data represented by center of pressure (COP) parameters. Postural measurements were conducted for both groups in quiet standing with eyes open and with eyes closed, and also while throwing a ball at erect standing. Assessments of motor ability were only applied to the DS group by using two dimensions of the original version of Gross Motor Function Measure and 4 subtests of the Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition. The results showed that while the participants with DS showed greater displacement and higher velocity of COP sways at quiet standing, they exhibited smaller COP displacement in anterior/posterior direction during throwing the ball. Three areas of motor ability, including standing motor skills, walk/run/jump motor skills and muscle strength, were found to make a significant contribution to the displacement and velocity of postural sway during the voluntary movement. It is suggested that future research should focus on investigating the definite underlying mechanism of postural sway during movement and the influence of increasing motor ability on the reactive postural sway in this population.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.05.002