Investigating postural control as a predictor of low back and pelvic girdle pain during and after pregnancy.

Background: Falls are common during pregnancy, posing risks to maternal and fetal health. Pregnant individuals also commonly experience low back and/or pelvic girdle pain. Other populations with pain, such as older adults with back pain demonstrate increased fall risk.

The effects of verbal cues on EMG activity during a quadriceps setting exercise.

Context: A quadriceps setting (quad set) exercise is commonly utilized following knee injury, but there is great variation in cues that clinicians provide to patients when performing the exercise.

Objectives: To determine if internal, external, or visual cues results in the greatest quadriceps electromyographical (EMG) activity during a quadriceps setting exercise in healthy individuals.

Design: Descriptive laboratory study.

Development of Infant Sitting Postural Control in Three Groups of Infants at Various Risk Levels for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of sitting postural control among two groups of infants at elevated risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a group of infants at typical risk for ASD and its association with cognitive, language and communication skills at a later age. We visited infants in their home environment from the onset of sitting until sitting independence and at 12 and 18 months of age. We collected data on sitting posture (center of pressure), through a portable force platform, as well as communication, cognitive and social behavior assessments at various time points.

A home-based longitudinal study of vocalization behaviors across infants at low and elevated risk of autism.

Background And Aims: The purpose of this exploratory study was to expand existing literature on prelinguistic vocalizations by reporting results of the first home-based longitudinal study examining a wide variety of behaviors and characteristics, including early vocalizations, across infants at low and elevated risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study of vocalizations and vocalization changes across early developmental periods shows promise in reflecting early clinically significant differences across infants at low and elevated risk of ASD. Observations of early vocalizations and their differences during infancy could provide a reliable and essential component of an early developmental profile that would lower the average diagnostic age for ASD.

Center of pressure characteristics differ during single leg stance throughout pregnancy and compared to nulligravida individuals.

Background: Falls are common during pregnancy and present potential for injury to the pregnant individual and the baby.

Research Question: Do center of pressure characteristics during single leg stance differ between participants during and after pregnancy and nulligravida participants in the presence and absence of visual input?

Methods: Nineteen pregnant participants completed testing during the second trimester, the third trimester, and 4-6 months post-partum. Matched, nulligravida females completed testing once.

The Effects of Virtual Reality Based Rehabilitation on Upper Extremity Function in a Child with Cerebral Palsy: A Case Report.

Aim: This case report was designed to assess the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation on improving upper extremity function for a child with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Methods: In addition to conventional therapies completed three times per week, the participant engaged in virtual reality rehabilitation with the Neofect Smart Kids five to seven days per week for six weeks totaling just over twelve hours of intervention time. Outcome measures were administered pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6-weeks post-intervention.

Postural control may drive the development of other domains in infancy.

Background: To examine differences in sitting posture in infants at low- and high-risk for autism spectrum disorder and to establish the relationship between sitting postural control and other developmental domains.

Methods: A total of 19 infants participated in the study. Eight infants at high-risk and 11 infants at low-risk for autism spectrum disorder.

Visual and somatosensory contributions to infant sitting postural control.

There are a limited number of studies that have investigated sitting posture during infancy and the contribution of the sensory systems. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of altered visual and somatosensory signals on infant sitting postural control. Thirteen infants (mean age ± SD, 259.

Water Immersion Affects Episodic Memory and Postural Control in Healthy Older Adults.

Background And Purpose: Previous research has reported that younger adults make fewer cognitive errors on an auditory vigilance task while in chest-deep water compared with on land. The purpose of this study was to extend this previous work to include older adults and to examine the effect of environment (water vs land) on linear and nonlinear measures of postural control under single- and dual-task conditions.

Methods: Twenty-one older adult participants (age = 71.

Infant sitting postural control appears robust across changes in surface context.

Aim Of The Study: Independent sitting requires the control of the involved body segments over the base of support using information obtained from the three sensory systems (visual, vestibular, and somatosensory). The contribution of somatosensory information in infant sitting has not been explored. To address this gap, we altered the context of the sitting support surface and examined the infants' immediate postural responses.

Sample Entropy Identifies Differences in Spontaneous Leg Movement Behavior between Infants with Typical Development and Infants at Risk of Developmental Delay.

We are interested in using wearable sensor data to analyze detailed characteristics of movement, such as repeatability and variability of movement patterns, over days and months to accurately capture real-world infant behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore Sample Entropy (SampEn) from wearable sensor data as a measure of variability of spontaneous infant leg movement and as a potential marker of the development of neuromotor control. We hypothesized that infants at risk (AR) of developmental delay would present significantly lower SampEn values than infants with typical development (TD).

An overview of assessment methodology for obesity-related variables in infants at risk.

Background: The first 2 years of a child's life are a particularly critical time period for obesity prevention.

Aim: An increasing amount of research across the world is aimed at understanding factors that impact early childhood obesity and developing interventions that target these factors effectively. With this growing interest, new and interdisciplinary research teams are developing to meet this research need.

He's just content to sit: a qualitative study of mothers' perceptions of infant obesity and physical activity.

Background: Rates of obesity among children ages zero to five are rapidly increasing. Greater efforts are needed to promote healthy behaviors of young children. Mothers are especially important targets for promoting health as mothers' views play a vital role in helping their children foster healthy habits from an early age.

Reliability of center of pressure measures for assessing the development of sitting postural control through the stages of sitting.

Cerebral palsy (CP) impairs an individual's ability to move and control one's posture. Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of CP may not be apparent before age two. Evaluating sitting posture is a potential way to assess the developing mechanisms that contribute to CP.

Postural control strategies differ in normal weight and overweight infants.

Background: Evidence suggests obesity can have a negative influence on a child's motor development and postural control behavior. Little research has examined the impact of infant weight on gross motor behavior, particularly postural control at the onset of sitting.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether normal weight and overweight infants differed in their postural control strategies at the onset of sitting and one-month post onset of sitting.

Children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy may not benefit from stochastic vibration when developing independent sitting.

Purpose: Determine sitting postural control changes for children with cerebral palsy (CP), using a perceptual-motor intervention and the same intervention plus stochastic vibration through the sitting surface.

Methods: Two groups of children with moderate or severe CP participated in the 12 week interventions. The primary outcome measure was center of pressure data from which linear and nonlinear variables were extracted and the gross motor function measure (GMFM).

Indifference to Chaotic Motion May Be Related to Social Disinterest in Children With Autism.

Children with autism spectrum disorder tend to have little interest in the presence, actions, and motives of other persons. In addition, these children tend to present with a limited and overly redundant movement repertoire, often expressing hyperfixation and aversion to novelty. We explore whether this is related to a more fundamental lack of appreciation for various temporal dynamics, including periodic, chaotic, and aperiodic motion structures.

A Perceptual Motor Intervention Improves Play Behavior in Children with Moderate to Severe Cerebral Palsy.

For children with moderate or severe cerebral palsy (CP), a foundational early goal is independent sitting. Sitting offers additional opportunities for object exploration, play and social engagement. The achievement of sitting coincides with important milestones in other developmental areas, such as social engagement with others, understanding of spatial relationships, and the use of both hands to explore objects.

Temporal Structure of Support Surface Translations Drive the Temporal Structure of Postural Control During Standing.

A healthy biological system is characterized by a temporal structure that exhibits fractal properties and is highly complex. Unhealthy systems demonstrate lowered complexity and either greater or less predictability in the temporal structure of a time series. The purpose of this research was to determine if support surface translations with different temporal structures would affect the temporal structure of the center of pressure (COP) signal.

Children's looking preference for biological motion may be related to an affinity for mathematical chaos.

Recognition of biological motion is pervasive in early child development. Further, viewing the movement behavior of others is a primary component of a child's acquisition of complex, robust movement repertoires, through imitation and real-time coordinated action. We theorize that inherent to biological movements are particular qualities of mathematical chaos and complexity.

Postural sway and gaze can track the complex motion of a visual target.

Variability is an inherent and important feature of human movement. This variability has form exhibiting a chaotic structure. Visual feedback training using regular predictive visual target motions does not take into account this essential characteristic of the human movement, and may result in task specific learning and loss of visuo-motor adaptability.

Sitting postural control in infants with typical development, motor delay, or cerebral palsy.

Purpose: To determine whether infants born full-term, infants born preterm with motor delays, and infants born preterm who have a diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) differed in postural control at the emergence of early sitting.

Methods: Thirty infants born at term who were developing typically, 6 infants born preterm who were later diagnosed with CP, and 5 infants born preterm who were delayed in motor development participated in this study. Center-of-pressure data from unsupported sitting were recorded and analyzed using measures of both amount and temporal organization of center-of-pressure variability.

Training dual-task walking in community-dwelling adults within 1 year of stroke: a protocol for a single-blind randomized controlled trial.

Background: Community ambulation is a highly complex skill requiring the ability to adapt to increased environmental complexity and perform multiple tasks simultaneously. After stroke, individuals demonstrate a diminished ability to perform dual-tasks. Current evidence suggests that conventional rehabilitation does not adequately address gait-related dual-task impairments after stroke, which may be contributing to low levels of participation and physical inactivity in community-dwelling stroke survivors.

Anterior-posterior and medial-lateral control of sway in infants during sitting acquisition does not become adult-like.

We examined (1) how sitting postural control in infants develops in the anterior-posterior (A/P) and medial-lateral (M/L) directions of sway, and (2) whether this control is already adult-like during the late phase of infant's sitting acquisition. COP data were acquired from 14 healthy infants (from the onset of sitting until independent sitting) and 21 healthy adults while sitting on a force platform. Attractor dimensionality (CoD: correlation dimension), attractor predictability (LyE: largest Lyapunov exponent), and sway variability (RMS: root-mean square) were calculated from the COP data to evaluate postural control.

A comparison of interventions for children with cerebral palsy to improve sitting postural control: a clinical trial.

Background: The ability to sit independently is fundamental for function but delayed in infants with cerebral palsy (CP). Studies of interventions directed specifically toward sitting in infants with CP have not been reported.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare 2 interventions for improving sitting postural control in infants with CP.