The ability to maintain a one-leg standing position and the relation between plantar two-point discrimination and standing time on one leg were assessed. Participants were 1,241 apparently healthy people aged 2–92 years. Participants were asked to stand on one leg with eyes open (EO group) or closed (EC group) for up to 120 seconds. Coefficients of determination (COD) between subjects’ ages and results for both groups were calculated by quadratic and cubic functions. The slope of the tangent line drawn against the resultant curve was calculated by a differential formula. COD for the quadratic function were 0.65 (EO) and 0.33 (EC); age at maximum values in both groups was 37 years. COD for the cubic function were 0.77 (EO) and 0.52 (EC); maximum values were at ages 30 (EO) and 28 (EC) and minimum values at ages 88 (EO) and 77 (EC). The ability to remain standing on one leg with eyes closed appears to begin deteriorating in the late 20s. Age and plantar two-point discrimination distance had a significant positive correlation, and the two-point discrimination distance and standing time on one leg had a significant negative correlation. Decreased plantar sensation appears to be related to the decline in duration of one-leg standing. 1. Introduction Children will gain upright postural control equivalent to adults’ when they are aged 7–10 years [1–4] or 9–12 years [5] according to various studies. The reason may be that children aged over 6 years can appropriately integrate the afferent sensory information required for posture control [6] and acquire the same upright postural control strategy as do adults’ [1]. Foudriat et al. [7] revealed that upright postural control in children up to 3 years of age is vision-dominant, but from that age onward, control will be gradually shifted to somatosensory-dominant control. Somatosensory-dominant postural control equivalent to that of adults will be achieved at ages over 6 years, which indicates that the development of standing balance may be nearly completed in the early school years. Morioka [8] has reported that the ability to maintain the one-leg standing position with eyes open will dramatically improve in children within the period from late preschool age to early school age, and the improvement will slow down during late school age. That study indicated that the development of standing balance is nonlinear and that it is accelerated beginning at a certain age. On the other hand, the involutional process of standing balance has been reported to be opposite to the process of developing postural control strategies
References
[1]
P. J. Sparto, M. S. Redfern, J. G. Jasko, M. L. Casselbrant, E. M. Mandel, and J. M. Furman, “The influence of dynamic visual cues for postural control in children aged 7-12 years,” Experimental Brain Research, vol. 168, no. 4, pp. 505–516, 2006.
[2]
J. A. Barela, J. J. Jeka, and J. E. Clark, “Postural control in children: coupling to dynamic somatosensory information,” Experimental Brain Research, vol. 150, no. 4, pp. 434–442, 2003.
[3]
H. Forssberg and L. M. Nashner, “Ontogenetic development of postural control in man: adaptation to altered support and visual conditions during stance,” Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 2, no. 5, pp. 545–552, 1982.
[4]
A. Shumway-Cook and M. H. Woollacott, “The growth of stability: postural control from a developmental perspective,” Journal of Motor Behavior, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 131–147, 1985.
[5]
K. Taguchi and C. Tada, “Change of body sway with group of children,” in Posture and Gait: Development Adaptation and Modulation, B. Amblard, et al., Ed., pp. 59–65, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1988.
[6]
A. Shumway-Cook and M. H. Woollacott, Motor Control: Theory and Practical Applications, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001.
[7]
B. A. Foudriat, R. P. Di Fabio, and J. H. Anderson, “Sensory organization of balance responses in children 3-6 years of age: a normative study with diagnostic implications,” International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 255–271, 1993.
[8]
S. Morioka, “Changes in the ability to stand on one leg in children from babyhood to school age,” Rigakuryohogaku, vol. 28, pp. 325–328, 2001.
[9]
L. I. Wolfson, R. Whipple, and P. Amerman, “Gait and balance in the elderly. Two functional capacities that link sensory and motor ability to falls,” Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 649–660, 1985.
[10]
F. B. Horak, C. L. Shupert, and A. Mirka, “Review. Components of postural dyscontrol in the elderly: a review,” Neurobiology of Aging, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 727–738, 1989.
[11]
R. J. Peterka and F. O. Black, “Age-related changes in human posture control: sensory organization tests,” Journal of Vestibular Research, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 73–85, 1990.
[12]
I. Poulain and G. Giraudet, “Age-related changes of visual contribution in posture control,” Gait and Posture, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 1–7, 2008.
[13]
N. Teasdale, G. E. Stelmach, and A. Breunig, “Postural sway characteristics of the elderly under normal and altered visual and support surface conditions,” Journals of Gerontology, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. B238–B244, 1991.
[14]
M. H. Woollacott, A. Shumway-Cook, and L. M. Nashner, “Aging and posture control: changes in sensory organization and muscular coordination,” International Journal of Aging and Human Development, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 97–114, 1986.
[15]
N. Benjuya, I. Melzer, and J. Kaplanski, “Aging-induced shifts from a reliance on sensory input to muscle cocontraction during balanced standing,” Journals of Gerontology—Series A, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 166–171, 2004.
[16]
S. R. Lord and H. B. Menz, “Visual contributions to postural stability in older adults,” Gerontology, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 306–310, 2000.
[17]
R. W. Bohannon, P. A. Larkin, and A. C. Cook, “Decrease in timed balance test scores in aging,” Physical Therapy, vol. 64, no. 7, pp. 1067–1070, 1984.
[18]
M. H. Woollacott, “Aging, posture control and movement preparation,” in Development of Posture and Gait Across the Life Span, M. H. Woollacott and A. Shumway-Cook, Eds., pp. 155–175, Universty of South Carolina Press, Colombia, SC, USA, 1989.
[19]
S. R. Lord, C. Sherrington, H. Menz, and J. C. T. Close, Falls in Older People: Risk Factors and Strategies for Prevention, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2nd edition, 2007.
[20]
J. H. Sheldon, “The effect of age on the control of sway,” Gerontologica Clinica, vol. 5, pp. 129–138, 1963.
[21]
J. A. Balogun, K. A. Akindele, J. Nihinlola, and D. K. Marzouk, “Age-related changes in balance performance,” Disability and Rehabilitation, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 58–62, 1994.
[22]
J. A. Balogun, L. O. Ajayi, and F. Alawale, “Determinants of single limb stance balance performance,” African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences, vol. 26, no. 3-4, pp. 153–157, 1997.
[23]
R. C. Briggs, M. R. Gossman, R. Birch, J. E. Drews, and S. A. Shaddeau, “Balance performance among noninstitutionalized elderly women,” Physical Therapy, vol. 69, no. 9, pp. 748–756, 1989.
[24]
B. D. Iverson, M. R. Gossman, S. A. Shaddeau, and M. E. Turner, “Balance performance, force production, and activity levels in noninstitutionalized men 60 to 90 years of age,” Physical Therapy, vol. 70, no. 6, pp. 348–355, 1990.
[25]
N. L. Choy, S. Brauer, and J. Nitz, “Changes in postural stability in women aged 20 to 80 years,” Journals of Gerontology—Series A, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 525–530, 2003.
[26]
R. A. Du Pasquier, Y. Blanc, M. Sinnreich, T. Landis, P. Burkhard, and F. J. G. Vingerhoets, “The effect of aging on postural stability: a cross sectional and longitudinal study,” Neurophysiologie Clinique, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 213–218, 2003.
[27]
A. C. Prioli, P. B. Freitas Júnior, and J. A. Barela, “Physical activity and postural control in the elderly: coupling between visual information and body sway,” Gerontology, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 145–148, 2005.
[28]
D. C. Dickin, L. A. Brown, and J. B. Doan, “Age-dependent differences in the time course of postural control during sensory perturbations,” Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 94–99, 2006.
