Strength and agility training in adolescents with Down syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.
A short, game-based treadmill program three times a week can markedly boost leg strength and agility in teens with Down syndrome.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers split teens with Down syndrome into two groups. One group played video games while walking on a treadmill. The other group kept their usual routine.
The game-plus-treadmill sessions lasted 30 minutes, three times a week, for six weeks. Staff measured leg strength and agility before and after.
What they found
Every teen in the game group got stronger. They also moved faster through an agility course. The control group showed no change.
The authors called the gains 'large and significant.'
How this fits with other research
Iglesias-Díaz et al. (2025) pooled ten similar trials and found the same pattern: strength training builds muscle in people with Down syndrome. Their meta-analysis includes the 2012 study you just read.
Sugimoto et al. (2016) looked at seven studies and saw big strength jumps plus small mobility gains. Again, the 2012 trial is inside their numbers.
Triki et al. (2024) went one step further. They added a memory game while teens balanced. Dual-task training beat single-task for both posture and thinking, showing you can layer cognitive work on top of motor drills.
Why it matters
You do not need fancy gear. A treadmill, a TV, and a simple game console can deliver real gains in six weeks. Schedule three brief sessions per week. Track leg strength with a simple sit-to-stand count and agility with a 10-step weave drill. The evidence stack now spans over a decade, so you can pitch this to parents with confidence.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a proposed strength and agility training program of adolescents with Down syndrome. Ninety-two adolescents were recruited and evenly randomized to two intervention groups (exercise group vs. control group). The mean age for the exercise and the control group was 10.6±3.2 and 11.2±3.5 respectively. The exercise training program consisted of a 5-min treadmill exercise and one 20-min virtual-reality based activity administered three times a week for 6 weeks. Pre- and post-test measures were taken for muscle strength and agility performance. The measured muscle included hip extensor, hip flexor, knee extensor, knee flexors, hip abductors, and ankle plantarflexor. A handheld dynamometer was used to measure the lower extremities muscle strength, and agility performance was assessed by the strength and agility subtests of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Second Edition. The exercise group had significant improvements in agility (p=0.02, d=0.80) and muscle strength of all muscle group (all p's<0.05, d=0.51-0.89) assessed in comparison to the control group after the 6-week intervention. Knee muscle groups including both flexors and extensors had the greatest gains among all the muscles measured. A short-term exercise training program used in this study is capable of improving muscle strength and agility performance of adolescents with DS.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.06.017