Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Dec 19;19(12):e0314664.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314664. eCollection 2024.

Effects of core stability exercises on balance ability of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Junjie Zhou  1 , Yecheng Zhong  1 , Wenhong Xu  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effects of core stability exercises on balance ability of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Junjie Zhou et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are at risk of falls due to balance problems. One way to palliate balance deficits among this population is via core stability exercises. However, comprehensive studies that examine the effectiveness of core stability exercises in improving balance in this target population are lacking.

Objective: This study aims to summarise and quantify the effectiveness of core stability exercises in improving the balance of this target population.

Methods: This study followed PRISMA principles and conducted comprehensive searches in six academic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library) up to June 2023. The inclusion criteria were established via the PICOS framework. The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, and the certainty of the evidence was assessed via the GRADE approach. The meta-analysis was performed via RevMan 5.4, and for data that could not be pooled via meta-analysis, we used a narrative description of the results of each study.

Results: Six studies of 1078 subjects were included. The findings revealed that core stability exercises improved the dynamic balance of children and adolescents with ID but had no significant effect on static (Hedges' g = 1.32, 95% CI [-0.41 to 3.06]) or static‒dynamic (Hedges' g = 1.35, 95% CI [-0.02 to 2.73]) balance compared with the control groups. The quality of evidence based on the GRADE approach was very low.

Conclusions: Core stability exercises may improve dynamic balance in children and adolescents with ID, but given the scarcity of studies included, definitive conclusions cannot yet be drawn. Although pooled analyses also highlighted improvements in static and static-dynamic balance with large effect sizes over active control groups, the results were not statistically significant and should be interpreted with caution given the wide confidence intervals. The heterogeneity among the identified studies and the limited number of eligible studies may reduce the reliability of the results, but these findings emphasise the need for additional research in this domain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The PRISMA flow diagram of the search and screening process.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Risk of bias graph and summary.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Forest plot for the effect of core stability exercise on static balance.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Forest plot for the effect of core stability exercise on static–dynamic balance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Mickle KJ, Munro BJ, Steele JR. Gender and age affect balance performance in primary school-aged children. J Sci Med Sport. 2011; 14(3): 243–8. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2010.11.002 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gebel A, Lesinski M, Behm DG, Granacher U. Effects and Dose–Response Relationship of Balance Training on Balance Performance in Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2018; 48(9): 2067–89. doi: 10.1007/s40279-018-0926-0 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Melo RS, Tavares-Netto AR, Delgado A, Wiesiolek CC, Ferraz KM, Belian RB. Does the practice of sports or recreational activities improve the balance and gait of children and adolescents with sensorineural hearing loss? A systematic review. Gait Posture. 2020; 77: 144–55. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2020.02.001 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pollock AS, Durward BR, Rowe PJ, Paul JP. What is balance?. Clin Rehabil. 2000; 14(4): 402–6. doi: 10.1191/0269215500cr342oa . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Paillard T. Plasticity of the postural function to sport and/or motor experience. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017; 72: 129–52. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.11.015 . - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources