Dynamic equilibrium: influence of environmental constrainsts

Abstract

The aims of this study were: (a) to verify the locomotor strategies used when increased environmental constraints are applied to children; and (b) to relate the locomotor behavior within these conditions with the participants’ intrinsic characteristics. Two experiments were designed varying the height (ground and 39 cm in Experiment 1 and 39 cm and 120 cm in Experiment 2) where children (3 to 10 years old in Experiment 1 and 3 to 7 years old in Experiment 2) were walking. In both studies, children presented foot position preference (?at foot), increased number of steps and decreased step length related as height increased. Participants’ intrinsic variables and foot position explained the variability in locomotor behavior. It can be inferred that dynamic equilibrium is an important variable in motor control during locomotor tasks in complex environments.