Static balance in children with developmental coordination disorder

The purpose of this study was to compare the postural sway profiles of 9/10-year-old children with developmental coordination disorder and balance problems (DCD-BP, n = 64) with those of non-DCD children (n = 71). We measured center of pressure excursions in conditions with and without vision for 30 s while standing still on the dominant leg, the non-dominant leg, or both legs. Sway area, total path length, and Romberg's quotient were analyzed. Most measures differed significantly between groups, except sway area when the children stood with vision on either the dominant leg or both legs. When standing on the dominant leg or both legs, DCD-BP children demonstrated greater total path length in all conditions and a greater sway area in without-vision conditions. DCD-BP children showed more difficulty standing on the non-dominant leg with eyes both open and closed. While boys showed results similar to the total group, the girls with DCD-BP only exhibited significant differences in three conditions with eyes closed, but not with eyes open. Analysis of Romberg's coefficient also indicated that children with DCD-BP did not over-rely on visual information. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.