Tel Aviv University researchers discovered a link between balance and anxiety in children and that improving balance may ease anxiety.

Dr. Orit Bart at Tel Aviv University's School of Health Professions and colleagues found that a simple course of physical treatment for balance problems can also resolve anxiety issues in children.

Bart said the findings offer new hope for normal social and emotional development for children with both disorders.

Though not all children with anxiety have balance problems, all those with balance problems do exhibit symptoms of anxiety, pointing to a link between the two conditions, Bart explained.

Bart and colleagues Yair Bar-Haim, Einat Weizman, Moran Levin, Avi Sadeh, and Matti Mintz investigated the anxiety-balance connection in young children between the ages of 5 and 7.

The study, published in the journal Research in Developmental Disabilities, found that after a 12-week intervention of sensory-motor intervention, the children improved balance skills and the children's anxiety to normal levels. As balance and anxiety issues improved, the children's self-esteem also increased, the study authors said.