Effects of Bean Bag Tossing Game on Balance and Gait in Children With Down Syndrome.

May 5, 2026 updated by: Riphah International University

Effects of Bean Bag Tossing Game Using Static and Dynamic Surface on Balance and Gait in Children With Down Syndrome

The research design will be a randomized clinical trial. The study will recruit 36 children with spastic cerebral palsy and toe walking that fall within the ages of 5-17 years who have a defined balance deficit. The participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: group A (n=18), which will play the Bean Bag Tossing Game on Wedge, and group B (n=18), which will play the Bean Bag Tossing Game on a Balance Board. The intervention will be performed 3 times a week for 4 weeks 30 minutes a day. All participants will be assessed according to eligibility criteria. Guardians of participants who meet the eligibility criteria are requested to sign consent forms before they are entered into the study. The study involves two standardized assessment tools that measure the Gait and balance in children with Down syndrome: Berg Balance Scale and GALLOP Scale. The synopsis will present to the Research Ethical Committee of Riphah International University Lahore for ethical approval to conduct this study. Data will be analyzed by SPSS 27.0 version

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Down syndrome is a genetic condition where people are born with an extra chromosome.

Normally people have 23 pairs of chromosomes i.e. 46 chromosomes. People born with Down syndrome have an extra pair of chromosome i.e. 47 chromosomes. Women who are 35 years or older are more likely to have a child born with Down syndrome. To address this problem, the study will examine the effects of "Bean Bag Tossing Game and Balance Board" on Balance and Gait in children with Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome have low tone i.e. hypotonia and joint laxity due to which they have balance problems which may lead to gait impairments. Bean bag tossing activities involve throwing and catching so it may alter children's balance by increasing coordination, postural awareness, and dynamic stability. Bean bag on the head or other body parts trains children to be aware of their posture and body alignment, which improves balance control. Tossing and collecting bean bags while moving about requires children to dynamically change their balance, which improves their ability to maintain balance while moving.

The research design will be a randomized clinical trial. The study will recruit 36 children with spastic cerebral palsy and toe walking that fall within the ages of 5-17 years who have a defined balance deficit. The participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: group A (n=18), which will play the Bean Bag Tossing Game on Wedge, and group B (n=18), which will play the Bean Bag Tossing Game on a Balance Board. The intervention will be performed 3 times a week for 4 weeks 30 minutes a day. All participants will be assessed according to eligibility criteria. Guardians of participants who meet the eligibility criteria are requested to sign consent forms before they are entered into the study. The study involves two standardized assessment tools that measure the Gait and balance in children with Down syndrome: Berg Balance Scale and GALLOP Scale. The synopsis will present to the Research Ethical Committee of Riphah International University Lahore for ethical approval to conduct this study. Data will be analyzed by SPSS 27.0 version.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

36

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, 05450
        • Recruiting
        • Imran Amjad
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Youkabad Khoula, MS-PT

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:

  • Ageof7-12years
  • Abletorecognize the command given to them
  • Understand the verbal command
  • Standand walk independently without repeated falling
  • Normalvisualization and Audible range

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children suffering from seizures
  • Children with Multiple Sclerosis
  • Children with Muscular Dystrophy
  • Children with cardiac anomalies

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: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Bean Bag Tossing Game on Wedge.
In this group first the Children will be given the baseline therapy of backward walking for 10 minutes, single leg standing, vertical or horizontal jumps for 10 minutes and then given the balance training by playing bean bag tossing game while standing on wedge. Bean bag boards should be placed 1 foot apart from the tossing line. Use a rope (or another object) to mark the tossing line. The child will take 3 bean bags while standing on the wedge and ask the child to toss the bean bags in the bean bag board one by one starting to stand on wedge from 5 minutes to increases the time to maximum 10minutes
Other: Bean Bag Tossing Game on Wedge
In this group first the Children will be given the baseline therapy of backward walking for 10 minutes, single leg standing, vertical or horizontal jumps for 10 minutes and then given the balance training by playing bean bag tossing game while standing on wedge. Bean bag boards should be placed 1 foot apart from the tossing line. Use a rope (or another object) to mark the tossing line. The child will take 3 bean bags while standing on the wedge and ask the child to toss the bean bags in the bean bag board one by one starting to stand on wedge from 5 minutes to increases the time to maximum 10minutes
Other: Bean Bag Tossing Game on Balance Board
In this group first the Children will be given the baseline therapy of backward walking for 10 minutes, single leg standing, vertical or horizontal jumps for 10 minutes (18) and then given the balance training by playing bean bag tossing game while standing on a balance board. Bean bag boards should be placed 1 foot apart from the tossing line. Use a rope (or another object) to mark the tossing line. The child will take 3 bean bags while standing on a balance board and ask the child to toss the bean bags in the bean bag board one by one. Ask the child to maintain the balance while standing on balance board
Other: Bean Bag Tossing Game on Balance Board
In this group first the Children will be given the baseline therapy of backward walking for 10 minutes, single leg standing, vertical or horizontal jumps for 10 minutes (18) and then given the balance training by playing bean bag tossing game while standing on a balance board. Bean bag boards should be placed 1 foot apart from the tossing line. Use a rope (or another object) to mark the tossing line. The child will take 3 bean bags while standing on a balance board and ask the child to toss the bean bags in the bean bag board one by one. Ask the child to maintain the balance while standing on balance board

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Static Balance
Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks
To assess static balance before and after the intervention, the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) will be used to evaluate improvements in postural stability and functional balance. This method allows for the measurement of a child's ability to maintain equilibrium during a series of standardized tasks, such as standing unsupported, reaching forward, and maintaining different standing positions. Changes in the total BBS score will indicate improvements in balance performance, while task-specific scores may reflect enhanced control, coordination, and stability achieved through activities such as bean bag tossing on a wedge and balance board.
Baseline, 4 weeks
Dynamic Balance
Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks
To assess dynamic balance before and after the intervention, the Gallop Scale will be used to evaluate improvements in coordinated movement and balance during locomotor activities. This method allows for the measurement of a child's ability to perform rhythmic and controlled galloping patterns, including step coordination, body alignment, and fluidity of movement. Changes in the Gallop Scale scores will indicate improvements in dynamic balance performance, while specific components of the assessment may reflect enhanced motor control, timing, and coordination developed through activities such as bean bag tossing on a wedge and balance board.
Baseline, 4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Riphah International University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Youkabad Khoula, 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)

October 28, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 5, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 15, 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/Youkabad Khoula

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.

Clinical Trials on Down Syndrome

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Serbia

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe