Equilibrium coordination tests among children: A feasibility study

Abstract

Introduction: Normative reference scores have not been established for most equilibrium coordination tests. Hence, the aim of the present study was to confirm the feasibility of the methodology and procedures, and limitations, for of large-scale studies establishing normative reference scores for sideways walking, tandem walking, cross-stepping, heel walking and toe walking among children. Material and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 284 children (144 boys and 140 girls) aged 8-15 years were recruited from a senior secondary school to perform five equilibrium coordination tests. The children were asked to perform all tests in a random order, and the time taken in seconds (s) was recorded. The mean values were subjected to statistical analysis. The normality of the data was assessed with the Kolmogorov Smirnov test. The descriptive statistics are presen-ted as geometric mean (GM) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The age, weight, height, and body mass index of the recruited children were 11.1 ± 2.1 years, 37.9 ± 9. kg, 141.3 ± 10.7 cm, and 18.7 ± 3.1 kg/m 2 respectively. The normative data of the trial for sideways walking, tandem walking, cross stepping, heel walking, and toe walking were 23.7 ± 8.8 s, 37.7 ± 6.7 s, 33.9 ± 11.3 s, 18.6 ± 8.8 s, and 14.5 ± 11.2 s, respectively. Conclusions: The findings indicate that it is feasible to conduct a large-scale study with a larger sample population to allow the data to be generalized to the global population.