The relationship between segmental trunk control and gross motor performance in low birth weight born infants.

Objective: Trunk control is associated with gross motor development. This study examines the relationship between segmental trunk control and gross motor performance in low birth weight (LBW) infants.

Methods: A total of 42 LBW infants and 43 normal birth weight (NBW) infants aged 3-9 months were sampled for this cross-sectional study. All infants were evaluated one time by the Segmental Assessment Trunk Control (SATCo) and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS).

Results: Statistically high and significant correlations were found between gross motor performance and segmental trunk control in all sample populations (r = 0.835; p = .001). No statistically significant difference was found regarding the segmental trunk control between the groups (p = .119). The LBW infants with atypical motor development had poorer trunk control than the LBW infants with typical development (f = 5.480; p = .001).

Conclusion: Our results show that LBW infants with atypical motor development had poorer trunk control than LBW infants with typical motor development. It was found that the segmental trunk controls of LBW infants were 0.398 times lower than in NBW infants.