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Independent locomotion provides autonomy for infants, drastically changing their relationship with their surroundings. From a dynamic systems perspective, the interaction between environment, tasks, and organismic constraints leads to the emergence of new behaviors over time. This 6-month longitudinal study aimed to verify associations between the emergence of locomotor behaviors and infants' characteristics, developmental status, parental beliefs, and practices. This observational study remotely assessed 37 full-term Brazilian infants aged 5 to 15 months, divided into two groups (G1: 5 to 11 months, n = 19; and G2: 9 to 15 months, n = 18). The motor developmental status of infants was closely associated with the emergence of behaviors (p < 0.05). Infants in G2 whose parents agreed with the statement "In typically developing infants, motor development occurs naturally and there is no need to actively stimulate it" started to walk later than those whose parents disagreed. Infants whose parents expected them to walk around 10-11 months walked earlier compared to those expected to walk after 11 months (G2, p = 0.011). Infants in G2 with a high frequency of staying in the supine position started to walk, both with and without support, later than those with a low frequency (p < 0.05). For infants in G1 with a high frequency of playing on the floor, locomotion (p = 0.041) and crawling on hands-and-knees (p = 0.007) started sooner compared to those with a low frequency. Staying in the cradle more frequently was related to a later emergence of supported walk (p = 0.046) among infants in G2. The emergence of locomotor behaviors is associated with motor developmental status, the surfaces where the infant plays, and body position. Parental beliefs and expectations influence how infants are stimulated and, consequently, the emergence of independent walking., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to explore motor trajectories of Brazilian pre-term and full-term infants from 3 to 12 months old whose parents participated in an educational program and had received guidance on gross motor development. Forty-eight Brazilian infants aged 3 months old were divided into Group 1 (full-term infants and their parents who received only verbal guidance, n = 14), Group 2 (full-term infants with parents who received an educative folder in addition to the same verbal guidance, n = 23), and Group 3 (preterm infants with parents who received the same verbal guidance and educative folder, n = 11). The folder had similar information to the verbal guidance; nonetheless, it helped to teach parents and allowed later consultation at home. We applied Alberta Infant Motor Scale, Affordances in Home Environment for Motor Development-Infant Scale, and a questionnaire about infants' information at 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-months old. In longitudinal comparison, all groups showed a significant difference for AIMS variables on total score and subscales; all subitems of AHEMD-IS; and time spent in prone, supine, sitting, and standing positions. In general, no differences were found between groups. Motor trajectory, home opportunities, and parental positioning practices were similar between full-term and preterm infants with different guidance approaches., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Objective: To verify whether the time spent in prone, supine, or seated positions differed between term and preterm infants; and to determine whether a single verbal guidance session for parents changed the time spent in different positions, and, consequently, the motor development scores, after one month in preterm infants., Methods: Sixty-one infants from a full-term and preterm group from Brazil were included. Motor development was assessed by the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and the parents registered the time spent in each position on a 24-hour schedule. A month after verbal guidance, a second assessment was performed only on the preterm infants., Results: The positioning times awake determined for the full-term and preterm parents were similar. Preterm infants spent more time in the prone sleeping position (2.1 vs. 0.8 h; p=0.037) than full-term infants. The AIMS percentile scores did not differ significantly between the groups. For preterm infants, the time spent in all positions did not change during the second assessment (n=18)., Conclusions: The fact that some parents position their infants in the prone posture during sleeping periods reinforce the importance of parental education approaches for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) prevention during the first months of life. The verbal guidance provided to parents of preterm infants did not influence the AIMS percentile and time spent in various positions but increased preterm parents' confidence in placing their infants in a prone position to play.

Objective: To compare masticatory muscle activity between people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) and healthy controls and to verify whether craniocervical dysfunction is associated with the presence of CF., Methods: Fifty-six participants were assessed and divided into pwCF and healthy control (HC) groups, each one composed of 13 children and adolescents at 9 (SD 3) years old and 15 adults at 25 (SD 6) years old. Craniocervical Dysfunction Index assessed symptoms of dysfunction and cervical spine mobility. Electromyography was used to evaluate the jaw and neck muscle activity during chewing., Results: Muscle activity during chewing was not statistically different between groups. Prevalence of craniocervical dysfunction was 75% for pwCF vs 64% for healthy controls. Individuals with CF are 1.53 [1.260, 1.870] times more likely to have reduced cervical mobility compared to healthy controls ( p = 0.000)., Conclusion: These results reinforce the need for musculoskeletal disorders treatment in the management of pwCF.

Objective: To verify the difference between the masticatory muscles' electrical activity, stress signals and the posture of preadolescents and adolescents with and without temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD)., Methods: 24 preadolescents and adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years old were divided into two groups, TMD group (TMDG) and control group (CG). All subjects were submitted to anthropometric measurements, psychological stress analysis, temporomandibular joint clinical evaluation and TMD verification; postural evaluation and masseter and temporal muscles electrical activity analysis during chewing. For statistical analysis, the Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test were used according to data distribution., Results: There was a significant difference between the groups for the electrical activity of the right temporal muscles (7.43% ± 2.92 vs. 11.71% ± 5.37) and left (7.70% ± 4.04 vs.11.44% ± 4.03) in the inactive period of chewing between CG and TMDG, respectively. There was no difference in stress or posture variables between groups., Conclusions: During the inactive period of chewing, there was greater activation of the temporal muscles in the TMDG. Female gender was prevalent in TMDG. The study participants showed signs of stress, regardless of the group. The posture and TMD relationship still need to be studied., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate whether children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (CLP) have altered control of masticatory muscles., Methods: The muscular activity of 66 children with CLP (n = 33) and without CLP (n = 33), aged 6-12 years was assessed during different tasks (rest, isometry, mastication) using electromyography., Results: The activation for the analyzed muscles was higher in children with CLP at rest (R) and inactive period (IP) (p < 0.05). The muscles of children with CLP remained active for longer than those without CLP (p < 0.05), and the length of the masticatory cycle was higher in children with CLP (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: Children with CLP have longer muscle activation and increased cycle time during the chewing cycle, which might be a consequence of malocclusion, resulting in difficulty chewing.

Purpose The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of time of contraction and rest on the masseter and temporal muscles activity. Methods 49 female subjects between 18 and 30 years of age were divided into TMD (n: 26) and control groups (n: 23). Surface electromyograph was used to evaluate the anterior temporal and masseter muscles during contraction and rest protocols. The root means square, median frequency and slope coefficient of the linear regression line parameters were analyzed. Results A significant effect of time in the contraction and rest muscle protocols was found. TMD patients showed a significant decrease in median frequency in the right masseter muscle and the slope coefficient in the right temporal muscle during the contraction protocol to control subjects. Conclusion Despite the TMD patients presented with higher fatigue susceptibility compared to the control group, both groups must meet the maximum time of 5 s of maximum voluntary contraction and at least 30 s rest between successive contractions of masticatory muscles during clinical or research assessment protocols.

This paper aimed to analyze, from both a kinetic and kinematic perspective, the postural control of children with cerebral palsy (CP) able to independently perform the sit-to-stand (STS) task (ICP) and children who needed support (SCP) typically developing children during the STS; and also investigate the influence of seats heights and foot placement positions on postural control of these children. Fourteen children with CP and fourteen typically developing controls were recruited. Based on the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) the children with CP were divided into ICP (level I) and SCP (levels II and III). Balance was assessed using the Pediatric Balance Scale. Motor function was rated using the GMFCS. Kinematic and kinetic data were recorded and analyzed during the STS task at two different seat heights and foot placement positions. The SCP exhibited significantly less balance according to the PBS and smaller displacement of their center of pressure (COP) in anteroposterior (COPAP) and mediolateral (COPML) direction relative to the other two groups. ICP demonstrated significant greater in the COPML displacement than the other groups. Children with CP required more time to complete the STS than controls. Those in the SCP group had lower linear displacement of the shoulder and knee than others during the STS task. During the high bench condition, the linear displacements of the shoulder and knee were reduced also. We conclude that the SCP has less COPAP and COPML oscillation, what means the better postural control during STS than the other two groups, which may be related to the support provided. The ICP exhibited greater COPML oscillations than controls, suggesting that they utilized different strategies in the frontal plane during the STS task. The seat height and foot placement did not influence postural control in children with CP, at least in terms of kinetic parameters. Seat height influenced the kinematic variables, with a high bench reducing linear displacement of the shoulder (vertical and horizontal) and knee (vertical) both in children with CP and control children., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate whether flexibility and gender influence students' posture., Method: Evaluation of 60 female and male students, aged 5 to 14 years, divided into two groups: normal flexibility (n=21) and reduced flexibility (n=39). Flexibility and posture were assessed by photogrammetry and by the elevation of the lower limbs in extension, considering the leg angle and the postural evaluation. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used for data analysis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to assess the joint influence of flexibility and gender on the posture-dependent variables. After verifying an interactive effect between the variables of gender and flexibility, multiple comparisons using the t test were applied., Results: Flexibility influenced the symmetry angle of the knee (p<0.05) and anteroposterior body tilt (p<0.05). Gender did not influence postural angles (p>0.05). There was an interactive effect between the variables of gender and flexibility on the knee symmetry angle (p<0.02). Male students with reduced flexibility had greater asymmetry of the knee when compared to the other subgroups., Conclusion: Posture was influenced by an isolated effect of the variable of flexibility and by an interactive effect between gender and flexibility., (Copyright © 2014 Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study aimed to establish the prevalence of pain in the craniomandibular and cervical spine region in individuals with Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) and to analyze the effects of these disorders on the bilateral activation of anterior temporalis (AT) and masseter (MA) muscles during the masticatory cycle., Methods: The participants were 55 female volunteers aged 18-30 years. The presence of TMD and craniomandibular and cervical spine pain was evaluated by applying the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) questionnaire and using a combination of tests for the cervical region. The muscle activity of AT and MA during the masticatory cycle was assessed using the symmetry and antero-posterior coefficient indices., Results: The AT activity during the masticatory cycle is more asymmetric in individuals with TMD. The craniomandibular pain, more prevalent in these individuals, influenced these results., Conclusion: Individuals with TMD showed changes in the pattern activity of AT. The craniomandibular nociceptive inputs can influence the increase in asymmetry of the activation of this muscle.