Hospital admissions as a result of accidents have been linked to the presence of adult ADHD. It is possible that the presence of higher postural sway in adults with ADHD combined with common symptoms of inattentiveness and hyperactivity could be contributing to the frequency of these accidents as well as the perceived clumsiness of these patients.

Accident Proneness and ADHD

The level of postural sway in people with ADHD is significantly higher than that of people without ADHD. As motor tasks become more complex or difficult, the difference in levels of postural sway between those with ADHD and those without becomes more dramatic.

Hofstra University

Postural sway is the usually subtle horizontal movement our bodies use to find our center of gravity. Postural sway is present in all individuals as it is necessary for maintaining balance during motor tasks such as walking, running, or even just standing.

Postural Sway

Hove, M. J., Zeffiro, T. A., Biederman, J., Li, Z., Schmahmann, J., & Valera, E. M. (2015). Postural sway and regional cerebellar volume in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. NeuroImage. Clinical, 8, 422–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2015.05.005

Postural sway and regional cerebellar volume in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

ADHD and Postural Sway

The volume of certain regions of the cerebellum is associated with postural sway. Specifically, postural sway has a strong positive relationship with the regional volume of the right posterior cerebellum. Additionally, performance in motor-related tasks is positively associated with cerebellar gray matter density. In other words, people with more gray matter in their cerebellum tend to be less coordinated.

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