Skip to main content

31 for 21: Gettin' cardio early

(Update: I've included the article...for those of you that had trouble earlier.)

My long-lost buddy Mary sent me a link to an interesting article.

Treadmill training helps Down syndrome babies walk earlier

CHICAGO (AFP) - Treadmills can help infants with Down syndrome learn how to walk months earlier than traditional therapies, a new study has found.

Parents of 30 babies with Down syndrome were asked to help their children walk on the treadmills for eight minutes a day, five days a week. They sat on a bench which straddled the machine and held their babies as the treadmill belt encouraged them to take steps.
This exercise helped the babies learn to walk up to four or five months earlier than traditional physical therapy alone, the study found.

More intensive training helped the babies to walk even sooner, the study found. The intensity of the training for half the babies was increased gradually after the infant could take 10, 20, and 30 steps per minute. The speed of the treadmill was increased, as was the length of training. Some children were also given light weights on their ankles.

Children with Down syndrome generally don't learn to walk until 24-28 months, about a year after children without developmental disabilities. Getting them walking sooner can help improve their social skills, motor skills, perception and spatial cognition, said study author Dale Ulrich of the University of Michigan's Division of Kinesiology.

"The key is if we can get them to walk earlier and better then they can explore their environment earlier and when you start to explore, you learn about the world around you," Ulrich said. "Walking is a critical factor in development in every other domain."

Down syndrome occurs in about one out of every 700 births.

Ulrich said he hopes hospitals and support organizations will rent the treadmills -- which cost about 1,200 dollars -- to parents of children with Down syndrome. The study was published in the October issue of journal of the American Physical Therapy Association.
___________________________________________________________
I think this is pretty cool, and we have a treadmill, so I might have to be starting the introduction to it so she's not afraid of it.

Thanks, Mary!

Comments

  1. Our PT told us about this study when Georgia was born. It's cool to see the results!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds good to me... but the link only turned up a "404 Not Found" result.

    Keep us posted!

    Dad

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey that sounds really neat! The link is not working though,bummer.Karen K

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey that is really cool! Sounds like they had some great results with it. Let us know if you start that with her. Karen K

    ReplyDelete
  5. So this study proves that treadmills can be used for other purposes besides dust catchers and clothes racks:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow! That is great news...and I wanted a treadmil for Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like Braska and I will need to spend some time on the treadmill when I'm there, so she can get practice and so I can get skinnier :o)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Guess it's time for me to pull the treadmill out of the closet; I'll try not to let it mock me, but just focus on helping Ian. (He's got a few more months before that, anyway.)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting!! I only ask that we all keep it positive, respectful, and clean. Comment moderation is on for now. (As this is my blog, I reserve the right to delete any comment I deem inappropriate for any reason.) If you use the anonymous option, be sure to sign your name. Thanks!!

Make it a great day!!

Popular posts from this blog

Oh happy day, Less question mark!

As a follow up to yesterday's post, I got word today that we will NOT be assigned to the new guy, but we will have an experienced coordinator after all. I feel SO much better. I also learned some other info today that made me think I still have some kinks to work out, so I'll be taking care of that this next week. I'll be SO glad when this transition/IEP stuff is behind us. I want to do the very best I can, but there's part of me who wants to just hide and let it all happen without me.

31 for 21: What to say

I have encountered plenty of people who ask "How old is she?" when Braska and I are out together here and there. They always guess her age about 5 months younger than she is, but that's ok, since that's what size she is. I have said several times that I can imagine it will bother me a bit more, although still not a huge deal, when she turns one next month and I see their reaction to that, as she still is in her car seat/carrier when we're in a restaurant or in a store since she doesn't sit up. Today, I met some friends for brunch. The waitress was a nice enough, very young girl, and she started cooing at Braska right away. That's nice. I don't mind, Braska likes the attention, and I'm proud of my cutie. The waitress asked her age, and I told her 11 months. She then said, "But she's not walking yet?" as she noticed that she was up to the table in her car seat/carrier. I just agreed and said, "Not yet." She said she h

Was there a line??

I assume that you went to vote, either today or earlier if possible. I expect that of you, know that straight up. How long did you wait in line?? And throw in the state you voted in, just for fun. I'm really curious if all areas have a big wait or if it's just the more congested ones. I voted Friday absentee/in person, and we waited about 15 mins or so. It moved VERY fast for a big line. There's just one place in our very populated county to do the absentee/in person voting, and it wasn't bad at all for what I thought it might be. If you haven't, GO VOTE people... again, please just know what you're voting for, either way. You may just have to live with your choice. God Bless America!!