Analysis of strength and electromyographic activity of lower limbs of individuals with down syndrome assisted in physiotherapy and hippotherapy

Abstract

Introductionone of the characteristics of Down Syndrome (DS) is muscle hypotonia. Different therapeutic approaches have a positive influence, between them Physiotherapy applications with different therapeutic approaches such as Hippotherapy have a positive effect on the physical health and quality of live of individuals with DS. Objectiveto evaluate the effects of both treatments on the strength and electromyographic activity of the lower limbs of children and adolescents with DS. Methodsfourteen individuals, aged between 10 and 18 years, participated in two groups: Physiotherapy group (n = 5) and Hippotherapy group (n = 9). Thirty interventions were performed for each type of therapy, once a week, lasting 30 min. Pre and post-interventions, the 30-Second Chair Stand Test (30s-CST) was used to assess the strength of the lower limbs and the surface electromyography equipment (EMG 800RF) to assess the lower limb myoelectric activity. Resultsthere was a reduction in the post-intervention electromyographic values for both treatments (p˂0.001), with significantly less myoelectric activity in Hippotherapy compared to Physiotherapy for all evaluated muscles (p˂0.001) and a significant increase in muscle strength for the Hippotherapy, post-intervention group (p = 0.0007). ConclusionPhysiotherapy and Hippotherapy are interventions that promote positive changes in the myoelectric activities of individuals with DS. However, only hippotherapy promoted an increase in strength of the lower limbs.