Static Postural Control in Youth With Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type I

Objectives: To assess static postural control in eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions in individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) type I as compared with typically developing (TD) individuals and to explore the relation between postural control and lower limb muscle function. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Outpatient department of a pediatric orthopedic hospital. Participants: A convenience sample (N=38) of individuals with OI type I (n=22; mean age, 13.1y; range, 6-21y) and TD individuals (n= 16; mean age, 13.1y; range, 6-20y) was selected. Participants were eligible if they were between 6 and 21 years and if they did not have any fracture or surgery in the lower limb in the 12 months before testing. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcomes Measures: Postural control was assessed through static balance tests and muscle function through mechanographic tests on a force platform. Selected postural parameters were path length, velocity, 90% confidence ellipse area, and the ellipse's length of the mediolateral and anteroposterior axes. Mechanographic parameters were peak force and peak power as measured using the multiple two-legged hopping and the single two-legged jump test, respectively. Results: Individuals with OI type I had poorer postural control than did TD individuals as indicated by longer and faster displacements and a larger ellipse area. Muscle function was unrelated to postural control in the OI group. Removing visual information resulted in a larger increase in postural control parameters in the OI group than in the TD group. Conclusions: A proprioceptive deficit could explain poorer postural control in individuals with OI type I. (C) 2017 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine