Toward a Quantitative Understanding of Infant Crawling Development
Disciplines
Development Studies | Orthotics and Prosthetics
Abstract (300 words maximum)
93% of children use crawling before they begin walking, and studies have shown that this activity can reveal details about an infant's development and possible health issues, especially neuromotor conditions. However, very little normative data is available to help us comprehend typical or atypical development. This study aims to obtain quantitative data to understand crawling development. This includes analyzing the effects of an infant's age, weight, and length on crawling patterns and how those patterns develop. To collect data from the infants, the Zeno pressure transducer mat (ProtoKinetics, Havertown, PA), measuring 4.9m (16') x 1.6m (2'), was used. The software used to collect the data from the mats was called PKMAS4. This mat and software were originally designed for quadruped animal-based research. However, it was used in this case to observe infant crawling using 4 limbs, which allows for the software to still work. Upon parental consent, infants were placed on the mat and encouraged to crawl, thus allowing the procedure to be non-invasive for the infants. The program allowed footfalls to be viewed and labeled. Using data from the footfalls, the variables evaluated were cadence, crawling speed, limb support percentage, anterior-posterior pressure ratio, and bilateral pressure ratio. Throughout the study, 75 typically developing (TD) infants will be observed every 2 weeks from when they start crawling to when they begin walking. 15 infants with limb loss (LL) will be observed once, at any point when they’re crawling. The trial provided a longitudinal analysis of the TD infants crawling development. Age and crawling rate are significantly connected (r=0.81, p=0.00013), as is cadence (r=0.71, p=0.0021). The only measure that showed a statistically significant difference between the developmental status groups was the IPR A-P group (t=2.31, p=0.03).
Academic department under which the project should be listed
WCHHS - Exercise Science and Sport Management
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Mark Geil
Toward a Quantitative Understanding of Infant Crawling Development
93% of children use crawling before they begin walking, and studies have shown that this activity can reveal details about an infant's development and possible health issues, especially neuromotor conditions. However, very little normative data is available to help us comprehend typical or atypical development. This study aims to obtain quantitative data to understand crawling development. This includes analyzing the effects of an infant's age, weight, and length on crawling patterns and how those patterns develop. To collect data from the infants, the Zeno pressure transducer mat (ProtoKinetics, Havertown, PA), measuring 4.9m (16') x 1.6m (2'), was used. The software used to collect the data from the mats was called PKMAS4. This mat and software were originally designed for quadruped animal-based research. However, it was used in this case to observe infant crawling using 4 limbs, which allows for the software to still work. Upon parental consent, infants were placed on the mat and encouraged to crawl, thus allowing the procedure to be non-invasive for the infants. The program allowed footfalls to be viewed and labeled. Using data from the footfalls, the variables evaluated were cadence, crawling speed, limb support percentage, anterior-posterior pressure ratio, and bilateral pressure ratio. Throughout the study, 75 typically developing (TD) infants will be observed every 2 weeks from when they start crawling to when they begin walking. 15 infants with limb loss (LL) will be observed once, at any point when they’re crawling. The trial provided a longitudinal analysis of the TD infants crawling development. Age and crawling rate are significantly connected (r=0.81, p=0.00013), as is cadence (r=0.71, p=0.0021). The only measure that showed a statistically significant difference between the developmental status groups was the IPR A-P group (t=2.31, p=0.03).