Investigation of the effects of balance coordination and strengthening training on gait, mobility and posture in children with low vision

The aim of this study is to examine and evaluate the effects of balance coordination and strengthening training on gait, mobility and posture in children with low vision. A total of 22 low-vision individuals were included in the study. Individuals were randomly divided into two groups as Control (n=12) and Treatment (n=10). The treatment group was given warm-up (10 min), cooling-down (5 min), balance (20 min), coordination (20 min) and strengthening (20 min) training 3 days a week for 8 weeks. No intervention was made to the control group.Evaluations were performed before treatment and at the end of 8 weeks. In the evaluations; Bruininks-Oseretsky Motor Proficiency Test 2 Short Form (BOT2-KF), New York Posture Analysis, Manual November muscle strength assessment, BTS G-Walk Gait Analysis, Independent Mobility Questionnaire (BMA) were used. A statistically significant increase in total scores was observed in the intra-group comparison of BOT-2 CF before and after treatment (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the post-treatment comparisons of the groups (p>0,05). According to the BTS G-Walk Walking Analysis, there was no significant difference in any value between the two groups when the post-treatment findings of the groups were compared (p>0.05). In the intergroup comparison of the change values of individuals before and after treatment, a significant improvement in the value of left stride length was observed in the direction of the treatment group (p<0.05). When the pelvic movement parameters of the individuals were examined, a significant improvement was detected in the right side propulsion movement in the treatment group after treatment compared to before treatment (p<0.05). When the intergroup findings of the groups were compared, there was no significant difference between the groups in all parameters before and after treatment (p>0,05). According to the results of manual muscle testing, there was a statistically significant difference in muscle strength in both groups in intra-group comparisons in post-treatment evaluations (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of trunk, lower extremity and upper extremity muscle strength (p>0.05) According to the results of the Independent Mobility Questionnaire (IMQ), there was no statistically significant difference between the control group and the treatment group after treatment (p>0.05). When the level of difficulty felt by the individuals during mobilization was measured, it was observed that the severity of the difficulty felt decreased in both groups, but this decrease was greater in the treatment group. According to the results of the New York Posture Evaluation, a statistically significant difference was observed when the findings of the groups before and after treatment were compared within and between the groups (p<0.05). As a result of our study, it was determined that our balance, coordination and strengthening training for gait, mobility and posture problems seen in children with low vision had ameliorative effects on gait, mobility and posture.