Developmental normative data for the Balance Tracking System modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance protocol.

Abstract

A growing number of practitioners are implementing the Balance Tracking System (BTrackS) modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance (mCTSIB) to evaluate the sensory sources of balance feedback used to maintain upright standing. The aim of the current study was to expand existing BTrackS mCTSIB normative databases on adults to include reference values from developmental age groups. Participants included children (age range = 5-8 years; n = 212), adolescents (age range = 9-12 years; n = 103), teenagers (age range = 13-17 years; n = 152), and young adults (age range = 18-29 years; n = 779). Testing consisted of four, 20-s trials of static standing on the BTrackS Balance Plate. Each trial systematically manipulated the relative contributions of the vision, proprioception, and vestibular sensory systems. Based on the total center of pressure path length metric from the BTrackS Assess Balance software, it was found that females generally outperformed males in all age groups and sensory conditions. Both sexes showed improvements in balance with age when comparing children and adolescents. However, only in the Standard and Proprioceptive conditions were further age-related improvements seen for the adolescent and young adult groups. The current findings provide useful information demonstrating that sensory feedback processing for balance improves at different rates during development. Percentile ranking "look-up" tables are also provided as a tool for practitioners performing BTrackS mCTSIB testing.