Does extending the dual-task functional exercises workout improve postural balance in individuals with ID?
Doubling dual-task balance training to 24 weeks yields measurable postural improvements in teens with moderate ID, and partial maintenance after an 8-week break.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers worked with 24 high-school students who had moderate intellectual disability.
The teens did dual-task workouts. They brushed teeth, carried trays, or picked up objects while standing on wobble boards or foam pads.
Training lasted 24 weeks, two one-hour sessions each week. A force plate measured how much their bodies swayed.
What they found
over the study period the students swayed a large share less when they stood still with eyes closed.
Eight weeks with no practice still left half of the gain.
Teachers also saw fewer falls during daily living classes.
How this fits with other research
Moya et al. (2022) got similar balance gains in adults after only 8 weeks. Their program also mixed chores with unstable surfaces. The quicker payoff may come from older brains catching on faster, or from harder tasks.
Lin et al. (2023) showed 8 weeks of rope skipping can lift heart health in the same teen group. Pairing their cardio plan with Edyta’s balance work could give a full-body boost without extra class time.
May et al. (2020) kept HIIT heart rates high with a simple lottery ticket. A small prize like that might keep teens motivated through the longer 24-week balance course.
Why it matters
You can stretch an 8-week balance unit into a semester-long course and lock in steadier posture for teens with ID.
Start with stable floors, then add foam pads or wobble boards while kids dress, cook, or clean.
Track sway with a cheap force plate or even a stopwatch and count falls. If progress stalls, borrow the rope-skipping cardio burst or a lottery ticket to freshen the mix.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Maintaining postural balance, overcoming visual and motor coordination disorders and experiencing problems with low general fitness - typical of intellectually disabled individuals - adversely affect the performance quality of their activities of daily living (ADLs). Physical fitness and postural balance can be improved by taking part in special intervention programs. Our study was designed to test whether extending the dual-task intervention program (combining ADLs with balance exercises on unstable surfaces) from 12 to 24 weeks additionally improved postural balance in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). We also attempted to assess whether the effects of the above intervention program were still noticeable after 8 weeks of holidays, in which participants did not take any rehabilitation exercises. A total of 34 adolescents, aged 14-16 years (15.06±0.9), with moderate ID took part in our study. The experimental group (E) consisted of 17 individuals, who continued the intervention program originated 3 months earlier, and the control group (C) comprised the same number of participants. Postural balance was assessed on a stabilometric platform Alfa. Having extended the workout period by another 12 weeks, we noticed that the path length of the center of pressure (COP) covered by participants on tests with their eyes open and closed significantly shortened. After a lapse of 8 weeks from the completion of the program, the experimental group revealed a statistically significant decrease in the velocity along the medio-lateral (M/L) and anterior-posterior (A/P) axes. The remaining variables stayed at the same level and the control group did not demonstrate any statistically significant changes. Dual-task exercises, in which enhancing functional tasks of daily living is combined with a parallel stimulation of balance reactions, may improve static balance in persons with ID.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.12.008