Citation

Gagnon I, Swaine B, Friedman D, Forget R. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2004; 85(3): 444-452.

Affiliation

Ecole de Réadaptation, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada. gagnon6@sympatico.ca

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15031831

Abstract

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+/-2.8 y) 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.

Language: en