Effects of virtual reality training in the postural control of children with Down syndrome: A case series

BACKGROUND: Children with Down syndrome (DS) may struggle adjusting their posture during gait or standing and tend to adapt slower to demanding motor tasks and environmental changes. The functionality in their daily activities is frequently diminished or they are slower, with poor postural control and balance as possible reasons. There is limited research on exercise programmes to improve postural control in children with DS. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectivenes of an exercise programm with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NWBB) interface o postural control and functional balance of children with DS. METHODS: Participants were five children age 6-9 years belonging to the legal organization Espacio Down (in Talca, Chile), who underwen an exercise programm with the NWBB. The duration of the intervention wa 9 weeks, with two 25-minute sessions per week and a total intervention timeof 7.5 hours for each subject. Postural control pre-/postintervention was evaluated at a functional level with clinical tests: Timed Up and Go (TUG), One-Leg Standing (TOLS) and posturographic measures using centre of pressure (CoP) variables Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon test were applied, with p < 0.05 considered to be significant. RESULTS: Th NWBB programme showed a significant decrease in the CoP total velocity, mean velocity and displacements in themediolateral and anteroposterior directions (p = 0.021) for the closed-eyes condition and a decrease in the time of the TUG test (p = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study provides initial evidence for the effectiveness of the NWBB programme in children with DS. A 9-week NWBB programme improves the postural control and functional balanceof children with DS.