title: Examination of Age-Related Differences on Clinical Tests of Postural Stability.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The modified Balance Error Scoring System (mBESS) and Y-Balance Test are common clinical measurements of postural control, but little is known about the effect of age on performance of these tasks. The purpose of this study was to examine how healthy child and adolescent athletes perform on 2 common clinical measurements of postural control.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Younger athletes would demonstrate poorer postural control compared with older athletes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Level 3.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred eighty-nine athletes between the ages of 10 and 18 years underwent an evaluation of postural control. Each participant completed the mBESS in the double-leg, single-leg, and tandem stances as well as the Y-Balance Test. Postural stability data were analyzed between age groups (10-12, 13-15, and 16-18 years) using univariate analyses of covariance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The youngest athletes (10-12 years) had a greater mean number of errors in the single-leg stance of the mBESS than the 13- to 15-year-old and 16- to 18-year-old athletes (3.8, 3, and 2.5 errors, respectively; P < 0.01). They also had greater right to left asymmetry compared with the 16- to 18-year-old athletes on the Y-Balance Test in the posterolateral (6.8 and 3.8 cm, respectively; P = 0.006) and posteromedial (5.3 and 3.6 cm, respectively; P = 0.014) directions of movement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Athletes between the ages of 10 and 12 years performed worse on the single-leg stance of the mBESS and demonstrated more asymmetry on the Y-Balance Test in the posterolateral and posteromedial directions compared with older athletes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the absence of a baseline balance test for athletes younger than the age of 13 years, caution should be used in interpreting postural stability assessments, as age may be a modifying factor in performance.
authors.affiliation: The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts.|Department of Psychology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine.
authors.forename: Erin O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Breen
authors.affiliation: The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts.|Department of Psychology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine.|Brain Injury Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.affiliation: The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts.|Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.|Department of Orthopedics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stracciolini
authors.affiliation: The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts.|Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Corey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dawkins
authors.affiliation: The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts.|Brain Injury Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.|Department of Orthopedics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: William P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Meehan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
keywords: adolescence; balance; development; postural control