Quantitative reference curves for associated movements in children and adolescents.

Intensity of contralateral associated movements (AMs) is a measure of movement quality assessed using frequency and degree of AMs. A sample of 593 right-handed participants without disability (286 males, 307 females; aged 5y-18y 6mo) was studied with the Zurich Neuromotor Assessment (ZNA). The ZNA is a standardized testing procedure which assesses performance on standardized motor tasks according to timed performance and frequency and degree of AMs. In contrast to frequency and degree, intensity of AMs allowed the calculation of centiles which were quasi-continuous. Centile curves of contralateral AMs for the ZNA and data on inter- and intraobserver reliability are presented. The significance of age, sex, and side differences are discussed. Intensity of AMs offers clinical and scientific advantages for measurement of movement quality. There is a decrease of AMs with age depending on the complexity of tasks. Females showed consistently fewer AMs than males, whereas only minor side differences were shown.