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Introduction: Obesity is a common health issue among children and adolescents leading to serious consequences later in life. There are reports on postural stability in children in relation to their nutritional status, but there are few studies involving a stabilometric platform. Aim: A comparison of postural stability in children with normal body mass and obese children. Material and methods: The stabilometric study involved 166 subjects. The postural stability evaluation was performed with the use of the Biodex Balance System platform. The following four postural stability tests were carried out: (1) eyes open, stable platform (SI0); (2) eyes open, level 4 unstable platform (SI4); (3) eyes open, level 4 unstable platform with the screen covered (SI4SC); (4) eyes closed, level 4 unstable platform (SI4EC), and the fall risk test (FRT). Results and Discussion: There were statistically significant differences found in the SI4, SI4SC, SI4EC, and FRT tests in all the inspected parameters. Only in the postural stability test on a stable platform (SI0) no differences were noted. The most marked differences between arithmetic means obtained for both groups were observed in the postural stability test on an unstable platform with closed eyes. Conclusions: Children with obesity are characterised by increased instability on a moving surface compared to children of normal body mass. Obese children experience the biggest problem when regaining balance with their eyes closed. It is advisable to include training on an unstable surface in physiotherapy programmes for obese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Recommendations for management of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) do not contain detailed information about the position of lower limbs during support standing. It has been observed that during the measurement of the range of extension in the hip joint (HE) in SMA patients, the examined limb was often naturally abducted. Aim: The main aim of the study was to compare the values of HE in the sagittal plane and in abduction, and to assess the correlation between the duration of supported standing and HE in SMA patients. Material and methods : The study group consisted of 75 SMA individuals aged 2-22 years and control group consisted of 202 healthy participants. The measurements were performed with the Rippstein plurimeter and goniometer. Results and discussion: Range of HE in SMA patients was larger in abduction than in the sagittal plane. A correlation was noted between the duration of supported standing and HE. Conclusions : Supported standing with hip joint abduction should be used in SMA patients. The obtained results broaden the knowledge about the biomechanics of hip joints in SMA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]