Effects of balance, coordination, and strength training in children with low vision: a randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of an eight-week physiotherapy program focusing on balance, coordination, and muscle strengthening on gait, mobility, posture, and motor proficiency in children with low vision.

METHODS

Twenty-two children aged 7-14 years with ophthalmologist-diagnosed low vision, based on World Health Organization criteria, were randomly assigned to treatment (n=10) or control (n=12) groups. The treatment group completed three 75-minute sessions per week for eight weeks, including balance, coordination, and muscle-strengthening exercises. Outcomes were assessed using the BOT-2 Short Form, New York Posture Assessment Test, Lovett muscle grading, and BTS G-Walk. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 25.0.

RESULTS

The treatment group showed significant pre- to post-intervention gains in total BOT-2 SF scores and in subscales related to fine motor integration, bilateral coordination, running speed, agility, and strength (p<0.05), with small to moderate effect sizes (Cohen's d ≈ 0.30-0.90). The control group demonstrated smaller improvements, significant only in some subscales. Postural alignment increased significantly in both groups, with greater effect observed in the treatment group (Cohen's d=0.74) (p<0.05). Gait analysis revealed increases in left step length and right pelvic propulsion only in the treatment group (p<0.05), whereas no significant changes were observed in the remaining spatiotemporal gait parameters. Manual muscle testing showed strength gains in both groups, with no statistically significant differences between them.

CONCLUSIONS

An eight-week, thrice-weekly physiotherapy-based balance, coordination, and strengthening program improves motor proficiency, posture, gait, and muscle strength in children with low vision, supporting its use in pediatric rehabilitation.