Postural control variability in medicated and unmedicated children with ADHD

While both ADHD groups presented stiffer and more restrained hip-based control during static balance, the medicated group showed markedly higher torque amplitude and variation around the hip and upper body joint group during dynamic balance. Conclusion : The present findings demonstrate that comparable balance performance can be achieved through fundamentally different biomechanical stabilization strategies. While neurotypical children show rich complexity that is well-adjusted to task demands, ADHD patients are more rigid in their postural control.

This reverses with increasing balance demands; medicated ADHD patients achieve stabilization with highly variable proximal efforts, which is more likely to display over-recruitment than efficient, flexible postural adjustment. The dissociation between kinematic and kinetic measures emphasizes the importance of assessing not only the outcome of postural control, but also the mechanisms by which it is achieved.