Static Body Balance in Children and Expert Adults Ballroom Dancers: Insights from Spectral Analysis of Shifts.

Antonio Cicchella

doi:10.3390/biology10121291

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe development of balance in children engaged in a particular and challenging task such as dance, is influenced by several factor, including growth of body and limbs, development of the central nervous system, and training. Comparing a group of experienced dancers and child dancers, we found that gender differences are overshadowed by technical training in adults. The dominance of the vestibular system (centralized and efficient fine control system) is apparent in adults from the static equilibrium tests carried out in this study. In children, however, a greater use of the somatic-sensory system (stereotyped and superficial) was recorded. A recommendation for practice, therefore, can be to train children in balance exercises with their eyes open, while adults could train with their eyes closed, to stimulate the use of the relevant balance subsystem. A limitation of our study may be, as is the case for most of the previous research on the topic, that we measure balance in lab conditions and not in real life conditions.Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the differences in maintaining body balance (influence of different sensorial sub-systems) in a representative sample of active Dance Sport competitors (children and adults). Methods: Overall, 13 children and 15 high-level adults sport dancers underwent a static equilibrium test on a force platform, in which 17 different parameters were examined, including a spectral analysis of shifts using an FFT algorithm that can assess the contribution of different somatic-sensory systems on maintaining body balance. Results: Younger subjects rely on their somatic-sensory reactions to maintain their balance, while adults rely more on the vestibular system, according to shifts’ spectral analysis. No differences were noted between the male and female participants. Conclusions: Children predominantly use the somatic-sensory system in body balance, while adults make more use of the vestibular system. According to these results and due to the trainability phases, exercises that challenge the somato-sensorial system are recommended to train balance in young dancers, while exercises that challenge the vestibular system are recommended in adult dancers which who have not developed exceptional somato-sensory balance abilities during their growth and training history.

Highlights

The Tetrax system can discriminate between vestibular, proprioceptive, and the visual contributions to balance by means of spectral analysis
The average Frequency values of the Px spectrum for both groups are in the Medium–Low frequency band (0.10–0.50 Hz) of the Tetrax classification system [37,39] and correspond to the use of the vestibular system to maintain the equilibrium in a healthy body in a state of instability or fatigue
The correlation we found of spectral parameters with body height in children means that the older the subjects, the smaller and lower the frequency of oscillation, which translates to a better control of equilibrium [12,16,53]

Summary

Introduction

Visual [2], vestibular (inner ear) and proprioceptive (afferents from muscle spindles and inner joints sensors) systems develop with aging, especially from the range of 4 to 12 years old (with a peak growth after the 7 to 8th year). Information from the vestibular, visual and proprioceptive systems afferents are integrated into the brain stem, into the cerebellum [4]. This finding was recently confirmed in studies involving children with special diseases [4]. Dancers include balance exercises in their daily routines, for example when performing on pointe techniques in classical ballet for choreography. Balance exercises are included in children dancers’

Results

Discussion

Conclusion