APPLICATION OF BIOMECHANICAL GROWTH-MODELS OF THE QUANTITATIVE-EVALUATION OF THE MOTOR SYSTEM IN CHILDREN

To evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation methods, and to assess the progress of the rehabilitation process in an individual patient, quantitative methods are necessary. The large number of motor system p arameters makes the problem of data collection time-consuming and expe nsive. A quantitative evaluation of the child's motor system is an ass essment of a combination of the growth and rehabilitation processes. T he aim of the study was to establish methods of differentiation betwee n these two processes. The chosen anthropometric measures, biomechanic al parameters of the lower leg segment, maximal voluntary extension an d flexion torques of lower leg and chosen gait parameters, were measur ed in various groups of healthy children 6-18 years old. Mathematical functions were calculated describing these parameters against developm ental parameters (body mass, body stature, age). Using the maximal cor relation criterion the best growth parameters were established. Normal ized databases for these parameters were developed. It is suggested th at, using their approach, differentiation between the influences of gr owth and rehabilitation processes can be achieved, thus eliminating th e need for tedious data collection.