The relationship between body sway patterns and motor and attentional functions in early childhood.
Soma Tsujishita, Yasutomo Jono, Morihiro Tsujishita
PMID 36744194WHAT IT FOUND
Six-year-olds with back-and-forth body sway had lower attention scores than those with centered sway, but physical fitness tests showed no difference.
Do not use standing sway patterns to screen for motor delays, though they may hint at attentional timing issues.
Key findings
01Children with an anterior-posterior (front-to-back) body sway pattern had significantly lower attention scores (SRO%) than children with a centered sway pattern.
02There was no significant association between body sway patterns and results on physical fitness tests like running, throwing, or jumping.
03Children with an anterior-posterior sway pattern showed a significantly shorter path length per unit area compared to children with a centered pattern, suggesting looser postural control.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study only included 6-year-olds, so it does not show how these patterns change in younger or older children. The classification of body sway patterns was based on visual inspection of diagrams, which may introduce observer bias. The sample size for the 'random' pattern group was very small (5 children), making comparisons with this group less reliable. The study measured attention using the Interactive Metronome, which requires motor timing; it is unclear if poor scores reflect attention deficits or motor coordination issues.
Declared interests
The authors declared no funding or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that standing sway patterns can diagnose attention disorders. The association was found in a small sample of healthy children, and the authors explicitly state the reason for the sway pattern is unknown and cerebellar function was not measured.