Article

In children, visual information is crucial for static postural control, although
age-related differences exist in the impact of visual perturbation on postural
sway. Since static postural control and locomotion are closely related, we expect
age-related differences in the impact of visual deprivation on dynamic stability
and gait. It is hypothesised that this is related to the important role of vision
in postural control. Postural stability and gait was tested in 20 adults and 40
children (3-11 years old) under two different visual conditions: eyes open (EO)
and eyes closed (EC). Significant differences were found between EO and EC for
postural sway, dimensionless walking speed, dimensionless stride length and
duration of double support. Thus, we can state that visual deprivation affects
locomotion both in adults and children. Concerning walking speed a significant
interaction effect was observed with age. The difference in walking speed between EO and EC is larger in children than in adults. Furthermore, we found significant
correlations between postural sway and walking speed, step frequency and stride
length. These observations support the hypothesis that gait adaptations in
situations of visual deprivation are related to balance problems.

Langue : ANGLAIS