Effect of Rhythmic Gymnastics Training in Children With Down Syndrome

Effect of an Adapted Rhythmic Gymnastics Training Program in Children With Down Syndrome

Some of the clinical characteristics of people with Down syndrome (DS) are orthopedic, cardiovascular, neuromuscular, visual, cognitive and perceptual disorders, which directly affect the quality of their movements. Children with DS often have a sedentary lifestyle or low levels of physical activity which exacerbates problems related to obesity and overall physical health. Therefore, the practice of physical exercise in this type of population is essential to improve their health-related physical fitness. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of an adapted rhythmic gymnastics training program on body composition, tendon architecture and stiffness, and physical capacity in children with DS.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Physical Conditioning, Human
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: swimming training; Other: rhythmic gymnastics training

Detailed Description

Children with DS with medium to moderate intellectual disabilities are required to participate. Participants will complete 10 weeks of training, two days per week. They will be divided into two groups: the Control Group will receive two swimming sessions per week and the Experimental Group will receive two swimming sessions plus two rhythmic gymnastics sessions. Before and after the application of the program, the following will be evaluated: body composition by Inbody 720, muscular architecture and elastography by Logiq® S8 ultrasound scanner and tendon stiffness by Myoton® Pro portable myotonometer. The tendons to be studied will be the Achilles tendon and the patellar tendon.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Paula Esteban-García, PhD; Phone Number: 926051588; Email: paula.esteban@uclm.es
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Javier Abián-Vicén, PhD; Phone Number: 926051588; Email: javier.abian@uclm.es

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Toledo, Spain, 45071
    • Recruiting
    • Universidad de Castilla La Mancha
    • Contact: Paula Esteban-García, PhD; Phone Number: 925 26 88 00; Email: paula.esteban@uclm.es

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Disabiluty: mild to moderate

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any contraindication to exercise
• Severe or profound intellectual disability
• Musculoskeletal disorders that prevented completion of the tests

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: swimming training; Participants complete 2 swimming training sessions per week. Total program time 10 weeks	Other: swimming training; 2 sessions per week of swimming training
Experimental: swimming training and rhythmic gymnastics training; Participants perform 2 swimming training sessions per week and 2 rhythmic gymnastics training sessions. Total program time 10 weeks	Other: swimming training; 2 sessions per week of swimming training; Other: rhythmic gymnastics training; 2 training sessions of rhythmic gymnastics

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Body composition	Body compisition will be assessed with the Inbody 720 (Bioespace, Seoul, Korea). In this test body mass (BM; kg), muscle mass (MM; kg), fat mass (FM; kg), lean mass (LM; kg), fat-free mass (FF; kg)	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"
Tendon thickness	Tendon thickness will be evaluated with the Logiq® S8 ultrasound machine (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI).	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"
Stiffness tendon	Stiffness tendon will be evaluated with Myoton® Pro hand-held myotonometer (Myoton AS, Tallinn, Estonia). In this test, the mechanical properties of the Achilles tendon will be measured.	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"
Hamstrings flexibility	Hamstrings flexibility will be evaluated with Seat and Reach Test (Fabrication Enterprises Inc., USA).	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"
body mass index	Body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) will be calcultated from body mass and height	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"
visceral fat area	visceral fat area (area; cm2) will be assessed with the Inbody 720 (Bioespace, Seoul, Korea).	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"
metabolism	metabolism (MET; kcal) will be assessed with the Inbody 720 (Bioespace, Seoul, Korea).	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"
tendon elastography	Tendon elastography will be evaluated with the Logiq® S8 ultrasound machine (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI).	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"
balance	Balance will be evaluated with the Biodex Balance System stability system (Biodex Medical Systems Inc., USA).	"baseline and "immediately post intervention"
functional capacity	Functional capacity of the lower body wll be evaluated with Sit to Stand Test adapted.	"baseline" and "immediately post intervention"

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Castilla-La Mancha
• Investigators: Study Director: Javier Abián-Vicén, PhD, University of Castilla-La Mancha

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 8, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 5, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 2, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 21, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): February 29, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 8, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 7, 2024
• Last Verified: February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: child; disability; down syndrome; rhythmic gymnastics; gymnastics training
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Congenital Abnormalities; Genetic Diseases, Inborn; Intellectual Disability; Abnormalities, Multiple; Chromosome Disorders; Down Syndrome
• Other Study ID Numbers: Rhythmic_PAU_2024

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No