Abstract
BackgroundChildren with Down syndrome (DS) are characterized by hypotonia resulting in reduced grip and pinch strength. This study aimed to investigate the influence of shoulder stabilization exercises on hand grip strength in children with Down syndrome. Thirty children with DS assigned randomly into 2 groups each group consists of 15 children. Handheld Dynamometer was used to measure grip strength and different pinch grasps for both groups before and after treatment. Both groups receive the same vocational school activities and the study group receives shoulder stabilization exercises for 3 months.ResultsResults revealed significant increase in the grip strength and different pinch grasps for dominant and non-dominant hands post-treatment in both groups as the main effect of time was statistically significant. Study group showed significant improvement than the control group post-treatment as the main effect of group and time × group interaction effect was statistically significant for dominant and non-dominant hands.ConclusionShoulder stabilization exercises and regular vocational school activities have a positive effect on different grip strength in children with Down syndrome.Trial registrationPACTR201907896910981. Registered 5 July 2019. A written consent form was introduced to all participant and signed by their parents.
Highlights
Children with Down syndrome (DS) are characterized by hypotonia resulting in reduced grip and pinch strength
Different studies relate the power of hand grip and shoulder muscles activity, and it was stated that shoulder muscles activities increase with the higher hand grip strength ; it was postulated that there are strong relationships between the power of hand grip and shoulder stabilizer muscles regardless the dominance in healthy volunteers [19, 20]
The power of hand grip could be used to monitor strength of stabilizers muscles of shoulder joint [21]. This may be explained by the role of shoulder muscles during whole arm activity; during movement of upper limb, shoulder stabilizer muscles play an important role in stabilizing humerus and scapula in their positions allowing proper shoulder stability which will improve the performance of upper extremity that would affect hand function [18]
Summary
Children with Down syndrome (DS) are characterized by hypotonia resulting in reduced grip and pinch strength. The power of hand grip could be used to monitor strength of stabilizers muscles of shoulder joint [21] This may be explained by the role of shoulder muscles during whole arm activity; during movement of upper limb, shoulder stabilizer muscles play an important role in stabilizing humerus and scapula in their positions allowing proper shoulder stability which will improve the performance of upper extremity that would affect hand function [18]. This function of shoulder stabilizers gives the attention to exercising shoulder girdle muscle during rehabilitation of wrist joint as it was stated that shoulder exercise enhances the hand grip strength and improve the functional capability of hand [22]. This study aimed to investigate the influence of shoulder stabilization exercise on hand grip strength in children with Down syndrome
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