Reliability of accelerometric assessment of balance in children aged 6–12 years

BACKGROUND: Development and evaluation of an accelerometers technique for collecting data for asses balance had reported difficulty due to equilibrium reactions and continuous bursts. The aim of this study is to determine the reliability and internal consistency of accelerometric measurements, related to static equilibrium and gait in children aged 6 to 12 years. METHODS: This descriptive and cross-sectional study involved 70 healthy children (50% girls) with a mean age of 9 years old. At the height of the 4th lumbar vertebra and directly on the skin, an accelerometer was placed on each participant. All of them had to complete four trials three times: balancing on one leg with eyes closed and eyes open, dynamic balancing on one leg on a foam mat, and normal gait. RESULTS: Results show that tests performed in older children had higher internal consistency than those performed in younger children (vertical axis r = 0.82, sagittal axis r = 0.77, and perpendicular axis r = 0.74). Tests performed in children aged 8 years or older presented a strong correlation between trials (r > 0.71). The three static equilibrium tests obtained reliability values between 0.76 y 0.84. On the contrary, gait test obtained inferior and poorer results (0.6 < r < 0.71). CONCLUSIONS: This method of assessment obtained positive results as an instrument for the quantitative assessment of balance in school-aged children. Values obtained for the three one-leg balance and static tests,were more strongly correlated than the normal gait test for all axes.