Comparison of the isokinetic muscle strength, balance and flexibility parameters of the children with down syndrome and normal development

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the balance and flexibility levels of 15 children with Down syndrome (DS) between the ages of 9 and 18 years differ depending on age range, gender, and height. Furthermore, it is also aimed to examine whether the isokinetic muscle strength differs significantly depending on the angular velocity. The data of the study were collected using the Sit-and-Reach Test, sport-KAT device, and isokinetic device. SPSS 20 package program was used for the data analysis. In the study, the Mann Whitney U test was used to analyze whether the balance and flexibility scores differed significantly depending on the age range, gender, and height; and the Friedman test was used to analyze whether the muscle strength significantly differed depending on the angular velocity. In this study, it was found that the flexibility scores of the children with DS between the ages of 14 and 18 years were higher than those of the children with DS between the ages of 9 and 13 years. In the children with DS, the females and the tall ones had higher flexibility scores than the males and the short ones, respectively. The children with DS between the ages of 9 and 13 years showed a better balance performance than those between the ages of 14 and 18 years. As the angular velocity increased, the averages of flexion and extension values of the participants decreased. With this study, It was concluded that the isokinetic device and the sportkat device can be used as an alternative methods for balance and muscle strength measurements for individials DS.