POSTURAL BALANCE MEASUREMENTS FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Measurements of standing balance were determined for 92 children and a dolescents, 5-18 years old, while they stood on a force plate with eye s open or eyes closed. The measurements included center-of pressure ca lculations for path length per second, average radial displacement, an terior-posterior and mediolateral amplitudes, area per second, mean fr equency of sway, Brownian random motion measure of short-term diffusio n coefficient, and long-term scaling exponent. All balance parameters improved from youngest to oldest subjects, and the parameters improved when measured with the subjects' eyes open compared with closed. The mean values for data from three trials varied by only 5% when compared with the mean values from 10 trials. Data from this study suggest tha t force-plate center-of-pressure data can be used to determine differe nces in standing balance between children and adolescents of different ages and those with movement and balance abnormalities.