Spinal alignment and the center of pressure while standing in children aged 6–12 years

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Poor posture (thoracic hyperkyphosis) in children is reportedly caused by changes in their living environment. A previous study (conducted 30 years ago) reported that the position of the center of pressure (COP) in a child with an upright posture was approximately 40% from the heel. The present study aimed to determine the position and characteristics of the COP while standing in children aged 6–12 years. This study enrolled 83 elementary school students. A Win-Pod (Medicapteurs) platform was used to measure the COP. The COP position was expressed as a percentage from the heel as a relative ratio with a foot length of 100%. Spinal Mouse® was used to measure thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, sacral anteversion, and trunk inclination angles in the standing position. The COP position was 30.3±8.9% from the heel. We found positive correlations between the COP position, height, and weight. Further, the COP position was significantly more anterior in 28 upper elementary grade children (35.1 ± 9.2%) than in 25 middle (29.5 ± 8.6%) and 30 lower grade children (26.5 ± 6.7%). Regarding sex differences, the COP position was significantly more anterior in 46 boys (32.3 ± 9.8%) than in 37 girls (27.9 ± 6.9%). There was a weak positive correlation between the COP position and trunk inclination angle (r=0.251, p<0.05). Thus, we found that the COP position in modern children aged 6–12 years while standing was 30.3 ± 8.9% from the heel, indicating a shift toward the heel (backward) compared to that reported in previous studies.