Original ArticleMethods of Standing from Supine and Percentiles for Time to Stand and to Run 10 Meters in Young Children
Section snippets
Methods
Healthy children aged 2-8 years were recruited prospectively from 13 nurseries and primary schools in Sheffield, United Kingdom, with local ethical committee approval. Informed consent was obtained from the parents and children. All children were invited to participate, but data from children with a known diagnosis that affected motor function or who could not follow the instructions were excluded from the study. The children were assessed by a medical student and a neurology trainee. The
Results
Three hundred twenty-one children (161 boys, 160 girls) were recruited: 3 aged <3, 64 aged 3-4, 75 aged 4-5, 85 aged 5-6, 79 aged 6-7, and 15 aged 7-8 years (mean 5.1 years, range, 2.8-7.8). Two were excluded because of the diagnosis of hemiplegia and Down syndrome, and an additional 2 refused. Two hundred eighty-five were white British (88.8%). Their BMI ranged from 10.6 to 21.9 kg/m2 (mean 15.9 kg/m2).
The mean standing time from supine (MST) was 2.08 seconds (range 1.03-5.28 seconds). There
Discussion
In this age group, normal standing times from supine range from ≈1-5 seconds. This greatly differs from previous suggested normal values. Some of the difference may be due to different methods, as some studies have assessed the Gowers maneuver from a cross-legged sitting position.9, 10 Gowers did not specify a starting position in his original report.8 There is a strong negative correlation with age, showing children's standing times become faster with maturity. Interestingly, the standing time
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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.