The Effects of Obstacles and Age on Walking Time Within a Course and on a Balance Beam in Preschool Boys

Kasuga, Kosho; Demura, Shinichi; Aoki, Hiroki; Sato, Toshiro; Shin, Sohee; Kawabata, Haruka

doi:10.4236/ape.2012.22009

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Hence, it is important to adequately evaluate the balance ability. Walking on a balance beam and on a line have often been used to evaluate the dynamic balance of preschool children (Demura, Nagasawa, & Kasuga,1994 ;Aoki, Demura, Kasuga, Shin, & Kawabata, 2011 ;Bürgi, Meyer, Granacher, Schindler, Marques-Vidal, Kriemler, & Puder, 2011;Kasuga, Demura, Aoki, Shin, Sugiura, & Uchida, 2012a;Kasuga, Demura, Aoki, Sato, Shin, & Kawabata, 2012b). However, it is possible that a developmental evaluation of dynamic balance by age may differ according to the type and the degree of difficulty of the tests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex and Age-Level Differences in Preschool Children in Walking Times on a Course and on a Balance Beam with Obstacles

Aoki¹,

Demura²,

Kasuga³

et al. 2015

WJE

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This study aimed to examine sex and age-level differences in preschool children with respect to walking times on a course and on a balance beam with obstacles. Subjects were 324 healthy preschool children: 4-year-old boys (51) and girls (51), 5-year-old boys (50) and girls (60), and 6-year-old boys (62) and girls (50). A 5-or 10-cm-high obstacle (depth, 11.5 cm; width, 23.5 cm) was set at the halfway point of a course (length, 200 cm; width, 10 cm) that was drawn on the floor and a balance beam (length, 200 cm; width, 10 cm; height 30 cm). The children walked to the end of the course and on a balance beam, and returned as quickly as possible under three conditions: no obstacle, low obstacle, and high obstacle. In all obstacle conditions, children aged 4-4.5 years walked on the course and the balance beam significantly slower than children aged 5 and 6 years, and children aged 4.5-5 years walked more slowly than children aged 5.5-6 years and children aged 6 years. Both walking was significantly slower in children aged 5-5.5 years than children aged 6 years (course: aged 6.5-7 years) in the high-obstacle condition, and was lower in the high-obstacle condition than in the no-obstacle condition in children aged 4 years. No significant sex difference was found in children in either walking time in all obstacle conditions. The walking time on the course showed a significant curvilinear regression with age in boys except for the no-and low-obstacle conditions. All balance beam walking times showed a significant curvilinear regression with age in both sexes in all obstacle conditions. Finally, 4-year-old children walked more slowly than 5-and 6-year-old children on a course and on a balance beam regardless of the presence of the obstacles. Both walking abilities develop markedly in 4-year-old children, and children between 5.5 and 6 years walk at a similar speed. The two forms of walking, regardless of the presence of an obstacle, showed little difference based on sex in children aged 4-6 years. A 10-cm-high obstacle affects walking in 4-year-old children, but not in children older than 5 years.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex and Age-Level Differences in Preschool Children in Walking Times on a Course and on a Balance Beam with Obstacles

Aoki¹,

Demura²,

Kasuga³

et al. 2015

WJE

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…The children of different age groups 3.5, 4.5, and 5 years differed in their performance on the BBT but did not differ with respect to their performance on the FRT; significant differences in the performance on FRT were observed between the children aged 4 and 5 years, while no significant difference was found in their performance on the BBT (see Figure 2 ). It is worth noting that results pertaining to development of balance with age may differ on different types of tests ( Kasuga et al, 2012b ; Butz et al, 2015 ). Children of different ages have different abilities to understand and complete the balance test tasks, and these abilities are enhanced with the increase of age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age and gender differences in static and dynamic balance of Chinese preschool children

Zhu

et al. 2022

Front. Physiol.

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Objectives: Balance is a crucial ability of early age, but there is conflicting evidence with regard to age and gender differences in preschool children’s balance ability. Additionally, there are several tools available to measure balance, yet, wide variation in their use has restricted the capacity to synthesize the reference values. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the balance ability of preschool-aged children and determine how it is moderated by age and gender. The analysis pertained to determining whether different testing methods affect the results of static or dynamic balancing ability to provide a basis for normative balance ability data for healthy boys and girls between 3 and 6 years of age.Method: Six hundred and nineteen preschool children (296 boys and 323 girls) aged 3–6 years participated in the study. The static balance (SB) was assessed with children standing on one leg (OST) and in a tandem stance (TS) with respect to time. The balance beam test (BBT) and functional reach test (FRT) were used to evaluate dynamic balance (DB) by measuring the time spent and the distance reached, respectively.Result: The results revealed significant differences in OST with respect to gender (η2 = 0.037, p < 0.001), TS (η2 = 0.026, p < 0.001) and FRT (η2 = 0.016, p = 0.002); the girls performed better than boys on most balance tests except on BBT (η2 = 0.000, p = 0.596). Age had positive effects on the static and dynamic balance performance on the OST (η2 = 0.336, p < 0.001), TS (η2 = 0.205, p < 0.001), BBT (η2 = 0.367, p < 0.001) and FRT (η2 = 0.392, p < 0.001). Older children performed better than their younger counterparts. No significant interactions between age groups and sex were found.Conclusion: This study revealed that static and dynamic balance stability in preschool-aged children was affected by gender and age. Gender dimorphism is present in preschool children, older girls displayed better postural stability than boys, and balance performance improved with age. In addition, the study provides age- and gender-specific balance performance reference values for preschool children across multiple methods, which can be used to monitor static and dynamic balance development.

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“…Balance is one of the major component of the development of the brain and cerebellum functions to control balance and equilibrium. Balance is largely divided into static and dynamic balance wherein the former is the ability to maintain postural stability at rest and the latter is the ability to maintain the postural stability during the movement [1] . When used effectively, it helps children acquire and maintain proper controlled body movement throughout job performance, which, when done well, minimizes weariness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of obstacle gait training to improve balance in children with developmental delay: A single case study

PK,

2023

Int. J. Phys. Educ. Sports Health

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Balance is one of the major component of the development of the brain. Balance impairment is a common complaint in children with developmental delay and hypotonia as they lack muscle control. The purpose of this study is to find out the effect of obstacle gait training to improve balance in pediatric patients. A 3 year old baby presented to physical therapy when she was 6 months old by the primary care giver as she was having global developmental delay and hypotonia. She is undergoing physical therapy treatment for 6 days/week. She regained normal muscle tone but the balance was still affected. She presented to skilled outpatient therapy where she was seen for 6 times per week for three weeks. Her primary care giver complained that she avoids activities that requires her to balance. PBS was used to assess the pre and postintervention values. Her PBS improved 11 points post-intervention. She was able to ascend the stairs independently and was able to initiate to descend the stairs independently. Obstacle gait training was found to be beneficial in improving this patient's balance. This case report gives insight to clinicians to improve balance with the use of obstacle gait training. This study concludes that use of obstacle gait training in conjunction with the conventional rehabilitation program improves balance in children with developmental delay.

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The Effects of Obstacles and Age on Walking Time Within a Course and on a Balance Beam in Preschool Boys

Cited by 7 publications

References 6 publications

Sex and Age-Level Differences in Preschool Children in Walking Times on a Course and on a Balance Beam with Obstacles

Sex and Age-Level Differences in Preschool Children in Walking Times on a Course and on a Balance Beam with Obstacles

Age and gender differences in static and dynamic balance of Chinese preschool children

Use of obstacle gait training to improve balance in children with developmental delay: A single case study

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