Impaired postural control in children with developmental coordination disorder is related to less efficient central as well as peripheral control

Background Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental impairment that affects approximately 6% of children in primary school age. Children with DCD are characterized by impaired postural control. It has yet to be determined what effect peripheral and central neuromuscular control has on their balance control. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms to impaired postural control in children with DCD using the rambling-trembling decomposition of the center of pressure (CoP). Method Nine children with DCD (9.0 ± 0.5 years, 7 boys, 2 girls) and 10 age- and gender-matched typically developing children (TD) with normal motor proficiency (9.1 ± 0.4 years, 7 boys and 3 girls) performed 3 × 30 s bipedal standing on a force plate in six sensory conditions following the sensory organization procedure. Sway length was measured and rambling-trembling decomposition of CoP was calculated in medio-lateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) direction. Results Both rambling and trembling were larger for the children with DCD in AP (p = 0.031; p = 0.050) and ML direction (p = 0.025; p = 0.007), respectively. ML rambling trajectories did not differ in any conditions with fixed support surface. In ML direction children with DCD had a lower relative contribution of rambling to total sway (p = 0.013). Conclusion This study showed that impaired postural control in children with DCD is associated with less efficient supraspinal control represented by increased rambling, but also by reduced spinal feedback control or peripheral control manifested as increased trembling.