Retro Walking With and Without Bosu Ball for Balance and Mobility in Hearing Impaired Children

May 5, 2026 updated by: Riphah International University

Comparative Effects of Retro Walking With and Without Bosu Ball on Balance and Mobility in Children With Hearing Impairment

his randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of retro walking with and without BOSU ball training on balance and mobility in hearing-impaired children aged 8-12 years. A total of 24 participants will be divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group will receive retro walking along with BOSU ball training, while the control group will perform retro walking only for 8 weeks. Balance and mobility will be assessed using the Pediatric Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go Test, and One-Leg Stance Test. Data will be collected from specialized schools in Lahore and analyzed using SPSS 27. Ethical approval will be obtained prior to study commencement.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Children with hearing impairment often experience balance and motor deficits due to concomitant damage to the vestibular structures. Interventions focusing on balance training have shown promise in improving postural control and motor coordination in this population. Retro walking, or backward walking, has been identified as an effective exercise to enhance balance and motor control. Additionally, the BOSU ball, a fitness training device that provides an unstable surface, is commonly used for balance training. However, the combined effect of retro walking and BOSU ball training on balance and mobility in hearing-impaired children remains underexplored. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of retro walking on balance and mobility with and without Bosu ball in hearing impaired children.

The study design will be a randomized control trial. Data will be collected from Govt. Deaf and Defective Hearing Model High School for Girls Rajgarh and Deaf Reach School, Training Center and College, Lahore. The study will be completed in 10 months after the approval of synopsis. Children aged 8 to 12 years will be randomly assigned either into the experimental group(n=12) or control group (n=12). The experimental group will be provided retro walking exercises for 30 minutes 8 weeks and BOSU ball will also be 8 weeks duration. The Control group will provide only retro walking exercises for 8 weeks. Participants fulfilling the eligibility criteria will be asked to assign the consent form before entering into the study. Balance will be measured by pediatric balance scale, mobility will be measured by time up and go test and static balance will be measured by one leg stance test. The synopsis will be presented to Research Ethical Committee of Riphah International University, Lahore for ethical approval to conduct this study. Data will be analyzed through SPSS 27.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

24

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54000
        • Recruiting
        • Govt. Deaf and Defective Hearing Model High School for girls, Rajgarh
        • Contact:
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 8 to 12 years.
  • Children with hearing loss in right and left ear (bilateral).
  • Children with hearing-impaired intensity over 61 dB.
  • Both genders will be included.
  • Balance cut off value <45 on pediatrics balance scale.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of neurologic disease.
  • Hyperactivity and vision problems.
  • Have any musculoskeletal disorders.
  • Children with cochlear implant.
  • Children with leg length discrepancy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Retro walking with bosu ball
The experimental group will receive a structured balance and mobility training program that includes retro walking performed with the use of a Bosu ball. Participants will practice backward walking or the unstable surface of the Bosu ball.
Device: Bosu Ball
The BOSU ball intervention includes a series of balance and strength exercises performed in both stable (flat side up) and unstable (bouncy side up) positions. Activities involve weight shifting, circular foot movements, squats, single-leg stance, leg abduction, lunges, push-ups, and abdominal crunches to challenge stability. These movements are designed to improve balance, core strength, coordination, and functional mobility under controlled conditions.all these interventions for 8 weeks
Other Names:
  • Retro Walking
Active Comparator: Retro walking without bosu ball
The control group will participate in a conventional balance and mobility training program involving retro walking on a stable, flat surface without the use of a BOSU ball. Participants will perform backward walking only under supervision.
Other: Retro walking
The intervention consists of structured retro walking exercises designed to improve balance, coordination, and mobility. It includes variations such as knee and heel pulling, slalom movements, cross steps, skipping, and fast backward running with different body and foot positions. These activities are performed under supervision to enhance postural control, dynamic stability, and functional walking performance

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pediatrics Balance Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, 8weeks
The Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) is a valid and reliable test used to assess functional balance in children. It includes 14 simple activity-based tasks scored out of 56, where higher scores indicate better balance. The test is quick to administer and commonly used in children with balance impairments, including hearing loss.
Baseline, 8weeks
Time Up and Go Test
Time Frame: Baseline, 8weeks
The Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) is a reliable and valid tool used to assess functional mobility and dynamic balance in children aged 3-18 years. It has strong test-retest, intra-rater, and inter-rater reliability and correlates well with other measures of balance, strength, and functional ability.
Baseline, 8weeks
Single leg stance test
Time Frame: Baseline, 8weeks
It is used to assess static balance by measuring how long a child can stand on one leg. The child maintains a specific posture while timing starts when one foot is lifted and stops when balance is lost or the foot touches the ground. Proper posture is required throughout, and the test is repeated if incorrect positioning occurs.
Baseline, 8weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Riphah International University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Salma Kanwal, MS-PT, Riphah International University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 5, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 5, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REC/RCR&AHS/24/Salma Kanwal

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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