EFFECTS OF BALANCE TRAINING EXERCISES FOR IMPROVING STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE IN DEAF POPULATION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM Physical therapy exercises can play a vital role in improving static and dynamic balance. Our current research aims to determine balance training exercises’ effects on improving static and dynamic balance in the deaf population. METHODOLOGY A randomized controlled trial (IRCT20200625047922N1) with a sample size of 28 deaf children was conducted. Congenitally deaf children aged 6 to 11 years without cochlear implantation and could walk independently were chosen from Special Education School, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Exclusion criteria were those with mental illness, unilateral hearing, Visual, Cognitive, and Physical impairment. After taking the informed consent from parents and students, the participants were divided into a control and a balance training exercises group. Data was collected through the Berg Balance scale (BBS), including static and dynamic balance tests. Statistical analysis was directed by utilizing SPSS version 20. RESULTS The mean value for Pre-treatment BBS in the experimental group is 32.71±4.58, and in the control group is 34.50±3.93. The P-value of Pre-treatment BBS is 0.28 and in post-treatment is 0.00, which shows statistically significant variance among the treatment and control groups. CONCLUSION Our study has shown that static and dynamic balance training exercises effectively improve the balance of the deaf population. KEYWORDS Deafness, Postural Balance, Hearing Loss, Vestibular Diseases, Persons with Hearing Impairments, Exercise Therapy, Bilateral Vestibulopathy.