Abstract
Gagnon I, Swaine B, Friedman D, Forget R. Children show decreased dynamic balance
after mild traumatic rain injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2004;85:444–52.
Objective
To compare the balance skills of children after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI)
with that of noninjured children matched for age, sex, and premorbid level of physical
activity.
Design
Cohort study.
Setting
Pediatric trauma center.
Participants
Thirty-eight children aged 7 to 16 years (mean, 12.2±2.8y) were recruited in each
group. Children with mild TBI had a mean Glasgow Coma Scale score of 14.8 and were
considered normal on a neurologic assessment at hospital discharge. Noninjured children
were friends of those with mild TBI.
Intervention
Assessments of balance were conducted at 1, 4, and 12 weeks after mild TBI and at
corresponding time intervals for the controls.
Main outcome measures
The balance subtest of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP),
the Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance (P-CTSIB), and the
Postural Stress Test (PST) were used.
Results
Over the time interval of the study, analyses of variance revealed that children with
mild TBI performed significantly worse than the noninjured group on the BOTMP balance
subtest (P<.001) and on the PST (P=.031), as well as on the eyes-closed conditions in the P-CTSIB tandem position (P=.05).
Conclusions
Children with a mild TBI still showed balance deficits at 12 weeks postinjury. These
deficits should be taken into consideration when planning a return to physical activities,
particularly to those that require subtle balance skills.
Keywords
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Article info
Footnotes
☆Supported by the Fondation Marie Robert pour la Recherche sur les Traumatisés Crâniens, Réseau Provincial de Recherche en Adaptation-Réadaptation, Ordre Professionnel des Physiothérapeutes du Québec, and the Physiotherapy Foundation of Canada.
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
