Effect of a combined exercise program (aerobic and rebound therapy) with two different ratios on some physical and motor fitness indices in intellectually disabled girl

Abstract

Background: ‪Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are mostly neglected and hardly exercised. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a combined program (aerobic and rebound therapy) with two different ratios on some physical and motor fitness indices in intellectually disabled girls. Material and methods: ‪A total of 24 girls with ID (13–17 years old with an IQ of 50 to 70) were selected and randomly divided into two experimental and one control group. Experimental groups performed a combined aerobicrebound therapy program with two different proportions: (group 1 performed 10 minutes of aerobic exercises and 20 minutes of rebound therapy, group 2 performed 20 minutes of aerobic exercises and 10 minutes of rebound therapy) for 8 weeks (3 sessions per week). All physical and motor fitness tests including endurance performance, lower extremities endurance, cardio-respiratory endurance, static and dynamic balance, agility and coordination were taken before and after the training period. Data were analyzed using Shapiro-Wilk's tests, covariance and variance analysis with repeated measurements (α = 0.05). Results: ‪The results showed that both exercise programs in experimental groups improved endurance performance indices, lower extremities endurance, cardio-respiratory endurance, static and dynamic balance, agility and coordination in comparison to the control group. No significant differences were observed between the two experimental groups. Conclusions: ‪In conclusion, to improve motor and physical fitness indices in girls with ID, both combination programs (aerobic-rebound therapy) with different proportions can be used.

Keywords

• balance
• exercise
• fitness
• health
• intellectual disability