Improving functional skills and physical fitness in children with Rett syndrome.
Daily treadmill walking for eight weeks can dramatically improve both fitness and daily movement skills in school-age girls with Rett syndrome.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Four girls with Rett syndrome, walked on a treadmill every school day for eight weeks.
Staff set the speed so each child could walk safely. They measured how far the girls could walk, how fast they moved, and how hard their hearts worked before and after the program.
What they found
All four girls walked farther and faster after the two-month program.
Their heart rates dropped during exercise, showing better fitness. Parents and teachers noticed the girls could stand up from chairs and move around the classroom more easily.
How this fits with other research
Ferry et al. (2014) extends this idea to Down syndrome. They found kids built stronger bones after a year of weight-bearing exercise, showing long-term benefits of daily movement.
Koegel et al. (2014) used treadmills with body-weight support for kids with cerebral palsy. They learned that walking on a treadmill changes gait differently than walking on the floor, which helps explain why treadmill training works.
Chen et al. (2013) studied kids with cerebral palsy and found that stronger leg muscles predicted bigger motor gains. This supports the idea that building fitness through exercise leads to better daily skills.
Why it matters
You can start a simple treadmill program for girls with Rett syndrome tomorrow. No fancy equipment needed—just a school treadmill and daily 10-15 minute walks. Track distance and heart rate weekly. Expect to see better classroom mobility and endurance within two months. Share the data with parents to show real progress.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: To investigate the feasibility of a physical exercise programme with treadmill for persons with Rett syndrome (RS) in order to promote fitness and health. METHODS: A daily training programme on a treadmill was designed for four females with RS over a period of 2 months with tests performed in three intervals, at time 1, 2 and 3, 2 months apart with intervention taking place between tests 2 and 3. Participants were four girls with RS aged 8.5-11 years (mean: 10 years) attending the educational facility Beit Issie Shapiro, Raanana, Israel, all with independent mobility and with typical characteristics of RS stage III. The training took place at the educational facility, on a 1400 model treadmill (Trimline, capable of very low speeds < 0.5 k/h), with very long side rails. Special low side rails were adapted to the treadmill in order to fit the height of the children and velcro straps were added to assist in safely placing the hands. Pulse was monitored constantly during exercise by an A3 polar pulse belt. Pulse measurements at rest during training were considered as evaluators of aerobic physical condition. Functional measurement was based on a scale specially established for the present study. The scale was a 31-item motor-functioning tool that measures the ability of participants to knee walk and knee stand, to get up to a standing position, duration of walking different paths, and to go up and down stairs and slopes. RESULTS: The study showed that physical fitness of the children at the end of the training programme had improved considerably (P < 0.05). Tests showed that general functional abilities had improved considerably (P < 0.0001). Although all items of the functional ability measure showed impressive positive change, some of the 31 items on it showed statistically significant improvement (knee walking, going up and down stairs and speed of walking for 25 m. Pearson correlation showed high linkage (r = -0.76) between functional improvement and change in physical fitness. CONCLUSIONS: Physical fitness programme executed on a daily basis is capable of improving functional ability of children with RS. Nonprofessional personnel can execute such a programme under supervision of a qualified physical therapist.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2004 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2003.00589.x