Relationship between segmental trunk control and gross motor development in typically developing infants aged from 4 to 12 months: a pilot study

Tamis W Pin, Penelope B Butler, Hon-Ming Cheung, Sandra Lai-Fong Shum, Tamis W Pin, Penelope B Butler, Hon-Ming Cheung, Sandra Lai-Fong Shum

Abstract

Background: Trunk control is generally considered to be related to gross motor development. However, this assumption has not been validated with clinical data. This pilot study was the first of its kind to examine the longitudinal development of segmental trunk control and gross motor development from 4 to 12 months of age in typically developing full-term infants.

Methods: A convenience cohort of 20 healthy full-term infants (mean gestation = 39.0 weeks, SD 1.2; mean birthweight = 2975.0 g, SD 297.0; males = 10) was recruited. All study infants were tested and scored monthly by independent assessors using the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale from 4 to 12 months of age.

Results: A developmental trend of segmental trunk control was found in the infants. Static vertical upright trunk control developed prior to active and reactive control. Statistically significant correlations were found between trunk control status and gross motor development mainly in prone and sitting positions from 8 months of age onwards (all p < 0.004, Spearman's r ranged from 0.644 to 0.798).

Conclusions: This pilot study provides preliminary clinical evidence to support the inter-dependency between vertical upright trunk control and gross motor development in young infants, particularly as upright functional skills are gained. This suggests that a dual focus on training upright trunk control alongside gross motor skills could be of benefit in the treatment of infants with movement disorders.

Keywords: Gross motor skills; Infants; Longitudinal; Postural control.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Developmental trends of segmental trunk control from 4 to 12 months in study infants. S- static control, A- active control, R- reactive control. Numbers on the y-axis are the SATCo trunk segmental level at which control was being learnt (1 = head control, 2 = upper thoracic level, 3 = mid-thoracic, 4 = lower thoracic, 5 = upper lumbar, 6 = lower lumber, 7 = full trunk control, and 8 = full trunk control achieved). The solid line represents the medians of the group at each age group. The boxes and the whiskers represent the spread of the data within that age group. The asterisks represent outliers in that age group. Please note that the SATCo is an ordinal scale and the non-integral numbers reported in the figure were purely for statistical purposes. In real life situations, no half-level would be credited to the infants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Segmental trunk control status and gross motor function from 4 to 12 months in study infants. LT = lower thoracic, UL = upper lumbar, LL = lower lumber, LFT = learning full trunk control, GFT = gained full trunk control

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Source: PubMed

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