Static postural control among school-aged youth with Down syndrome : a systematic review

Background: Youth with Down syndrome are characterized by motor delays when compared to typically developing (TD) youth, which may be explained by a lower postural control or reduced postural tone. Objective: In the present article, we summarize research comparing the static postural control, assessed by posturography, between youth with Down syndrome and TD youth. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in 10 databases and seven studies, published between 2001 and 2017, met our inclusion criteria. Results: Based on the present reviewed findings, it is impossible to conclude that children with Down syndrome present significantly lower static postural control compared to TD children. In contrast, findings showed that adolescents with Down syndrome tended to present significantly lower static postural control compared to TD adolescents when visual and plantar cutaneous inputs were disturbed separately or simultaneously. Conclusion: The present findings should be interpreted with caution given the limitations of the small number of reviewed studies. Therefore, the static postural control among youth with Down syndrome should be further investigated in future rigorous studies examining the contribution of a range of sensory information.