Changes in dynamic balance control over time in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine differences in underlying adaptations of dynamic balance in children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) during a Wii Fit game and to measure changes over time and after intervention. Twenty-eight children with DCD and 21 typically developing (TD) children participated in the study. Analyses of force plate variables showed that the TD group initially used a longer path length for the ski slope descent and tended toward more variation in Center of Pressure (CoP) displacement in lateral direction than the children with DCD. In contrast, the TD group showed a trend of fewer reversals per cm in both AP and lateral direction. After the nonintervention period, the TD group improved performance by decreasing the path length, while the DCD group improved by increasing the path length and by decreasing the number of reversals. After intervention, no changes were found in sway characteristics. Individual analyses within the DCD group showed that the path length per run fell more often within the 95% confidence Interval of the faultless runs. In conclusion both TD and DCD children modify the underlying kinetics of dynamic balance control, but in different ways and both lead to better performance.

Movement Control Strategies in a Dynamic Balance Task in Children With and Without Developmental Coordination Disorder

“…Additionally, large head movements will result in less visual control and would require a countermovement in the hips to stay in balance, as shown by one of the children presented in Appendix 3. It is known that children with DCD are limited in moving their center of gravity towards the boundaries of their base of support (Jelsma et al, 2016). It may be the case that the larger movements combined with the countermovement in the hips/arms/feet would result in a net lack of weight shift or a less controlled weight shift.…”

“…It is known that the kinetics of control in a ski slalom task of children with DCD differs from that of TD children at the level of displacement of the center of pressure (COP) during exergaming (Jelsma et al, 2016). However, differences in COP displacements may originate in opposite movements of upper or lower body or displacements of the feet, which cannot be detected in the COP only.…”

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“…A sequence of basic and intervention phases was applied and compared, revealing children's balance ability in the intervention phases as being significantly higher, leading to the conclusion that the Wii Balance Board -a widely available commercial product-can help children with disabilities to actively regulate their body posture. Wii Fit exergames have also been found effective in improving balance ability in studies in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (Tarakci, Ozdincler, Tarakci, Tutuncuoglu & Ozmen, 2013;Tarakci, Ersoz Huseyinsinoglu, Tarakci & Razak Ozdincler, 2016) and spastic cerebral palsy (Atasavun Uysal & Baltaci, 2016;Gatica-Rojas, Cartes-Velásquez, Méndez-Rebolledo, Guzman-Muñoz & Lizama, 2016) as well as in interventions in children with poor motor performance and balance control (Mombarg, Jelsma & Hartman, 2013) and children with probable developmental coordination disorder (Jelsma, Geuze, Mombarg & Smits-Engelsman, 2014;Jelsma, Smits-Engelsman, Krijnen & Geuze, 2016).…”

Using a mouse model to gain insights into developmental coordination disorder

“…Children and adults with DCD present with poorer static and dynamic control due to difficulties with keeping their balance within the base of support and/or inaccuracy in weight shifting . Additionally, individuals with DCD also present with poor motor coordination and planning, which could be attributed to difficulty in cross‐modal judgements that require use of visual information to guide proprioceptive judgements .…”

“…This suggests that children with DCD have a specific deficit in the use of proprioceptive information, which then affects the child's ability to carry out movements and participate in activities of daily living and play. Adults living with DCD continue to have similar difficulties that impact their balance and safe functional mobility …”