The Effect of Treadmill Exercises and Computer Games on Motor Skills of Educable Girls with Intellectuall Disability: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of treadmill training and computer games on motor skills of educable girls with intellectuall disability.

This study was a randomized clinical trial. Among the aducable children registered in intellectuall disability society of Alborz Province, Iran, 24 educable girls were selected from Kahrizak Rehabilitation Center, and randomly assigned into 3 groups of computer games, treadmill exercises, and control. At first, basic motor skills were measured, and then training sessions were conducted for 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week for experimental groups. The untreated control group did not receive any training during this time, and went through the usual routine of the center program. After the training sessions, motor skills were re-measured. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance method.

The motor skill scores in treadmill group were significantly higher than of the computer game (P = 0.012) and untreated control group (P = 0.001). In other words, treadmill training significantly improved motor skill scores (P < 0.05), while computer game had no significant effect over the untreated control group (P = 0.066).

The results showed the significant effect of treadmill training on motor skills of educable mentally retarded children. Based on the results, it is suggested that treadmill exercises can be offered in the education and treatment centers for the children with intellectuall disability.