WHAT IS THE NUMBER ATTEMPTS ARE NECESSARY TO EVALUATE POSTURAL CONTROL ON A FORCE PLATFORM IN HEALTHY CHILDREN?

ABSTRACT The standardization of the assessment of postural control on the force platform will facilitate the conducting of studies in children. There is no standardization for the child population, making it difficult to compare results.The present study aimed to determine the number of attempts needed for the assessment of postural control on a force platform in healthy children. A total of 344 children, 178 (51.7%) girls, eight years old, participated in this study. Postural control was evaluated with a single leg stance for 30 seconds, the present study analyzed pressure center displacement area (COP) and velocity anteroposterior and medial-lateral (Vel. AP and Vel. ML). For the comparative analysis of postural control with three attempts we used the Friedman test. Results were analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman concordance test. No significant differences (p >0.05) were found in the three evaluation. One attempt by the child proved to be sufficient to evaluate the COP, Vel. AP and Vel. ML (p =0.139; p =0.718; p =0.05, respectively). Excellent reproducibility was observed in the COP and Vel. ML variables (ICC:090, p <0.0001, Error:0.07 cm2; ICC:0.91, p =0.001, Error:0.024 cm / s, respectively) and average replicability in variable Vel. AP (ICC:0.68, p =0.0001, Error:0.10 cm / s). The present study recommends one attempt is sufficient to assessment of postural control in healthy children.