ABSTRACT
Postural stability in children is fundamental in achieving independent stance, gait, and higher-level gross motor skills. The foot and ankle contribute significantly to postural control by providing a contact area to the support surface and the primary joints that respond to certain balance perturbations. Children with neuromuscular disorders have deficits in response to perturbations of balance and often require assistive devices or orthoses to accommodate them. This chapter presents a set of quantitative parameters to examine responses to perturbations of standing balance during translations and rotations about the ankle joint. It includes specific examples from children with cerebral palsy (CP), with and without lower extremity bracing.
