Early motor development in children serves as a critical diagnostic indicator for normal growth and development. However, existing studies often isolate the development of gross motor skills from fine motor skills, lacking exploration into their interrelationships. Recent research has noticed the potential connection between balance ability and visual-motor integration (VMI) as a key breakthrough in understanding the association between gross and fine motor development. Nevertheless, prior work remains largely theoretical, with limited empirical validation. This study delves deeper into the underlying mechanisms of motor development by examining the relationship between writing movements and postural control, aiming to elucidate the influence of balance ability on visual-motor integration. A sample of 126 children aged 3–6 years from Chengdu, China, was assessed for visual-motor integration and static/dynamic balance abilities. Visual-motor integration was evaluated using the Beery VMI 6th Edition. Static balance was measured via single-leg stance and eyes-closed Romberg stance, while dynamic balance was assessed using the Y-balance test (YBT) and eyes-closed marching-in-place test. For static balance, open-eyed single-leg stance (r=0.56,p<0.05) demonstrated stronger correlations with VMI than eyes-closed conditions(r=0.430, p<0.05). For dynamic balance, A moderate positive correlation was observed with the VMI and YBT performance under Non-dominant foot support (r = 0.477, p < 0.05), while only a weak correlation emerged under dominant foot support(r=0.354, p<0.05). No significant correlation was found with eyes-closed marching-in-place performance. Regression models revealed that static balance positively predicted VMI (β = 0.385, p < 0.001), visual precision (β = 0.293, p < 0.05), and fine motor coordination (β = 0.267, p < 0.05). Conversely, dynamic balance negatively predicted VMI (β = -0.919, p < 0.05), visual precision (β = -0.595, p < 0.05), and fine motor coordination (β = -0.627, p < 0.05). Collectively, static balance positively influenced VMI, whereas dynamic balance exerted a negative predictive effect. Conclusions/Discussion: Both static and dynamic balance are closely associated with visual-motor integration, with static balance serving as a robust predictor of its development in preschool-aged children. Incorporating visual engagement tasks into balance training may synergistically enhance both balance and visual-motor integration. Gross and fine motor skills demonstrate a generally positive developmental interplay, though interactions between sub-domains (e.g., balance and manual coordination) may deviate from overall trends. Gross and fine motor development exhibit a coupling relationship characterized by both independent progression and functional synergy, though precise mechanisms require further investigation.
Li et al. (Thu,) studied this question.