Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>The aim of this study was to verify whether the tri‐axial accelerometer can be used for quantitatively evaluating balance function in children.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>In total, 198 participants, including 172 healthy children aged 3–11 years (87 boys, 85 girls) and 26 young adults aged 21–24 years (seven men, 19 women), were enrolled in this study. The participants undertook three types of balance tasks: quiet standing with eyes open and closed, one‐leg standing on the dominant leg and non‐dominant leg, and walking on the floor and a balance beam. We derived the root mean square from participants' accelerations measured by the tri‐axial accelerometer.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>We found that for quiet standing, one‐leg standing, and walking tasks, postural sway decreased with age. Girls controlled their posture better than boys of the same age on all tasks. There was a significant sex difference in quiet standing for children aged 8–9 years. Furthermore, sex differences existed in one‐leg standing for children aged 5–11 years. A mild positive correlation was observed between static and dynamic balance.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>The tri‐axial accelerometer is a useful quantitative tool for evaluating both static and dynamic balance function in children. Thus, it has the potential to be used clinically for diagnosis and rehabilitation.</jats:p></jats:sec>