Effects of Eight Week of Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization Exercises on Respiratory, Functional Test and Quality of Life of Educable Mentally Retarded Students: Quasiexperimental Study

Inactive lifestyles and neurological disorders among mentally retarded people have caused them to suffer from weaknesses in physical fitness and social adjustment factors. Breathing exercises along with the reconstruction of movement patterns from the first year of life in Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) exercises, in addition to treatment, can be effective in preventing many disorders. Therefore the present study aims to study the effect of eight weeks of DNS training on respiratory function, functional tests and quality of life (QOL) of educable mentally retarded students.

Twenty-six educable mentally retarded female students with a mean age (17.19 ± 1.50) and IQ (61.15 ± 6.07) were selected semi-experimentally and purposefully based on IQ and two paired into experimental groups (n = 13) and a control (n = 13) randomly. Before and after the training intervention, respiratory function, functional test and QOL variables were assessed through the Rockport walking test, the FMS test and the Cummins questionnaire, respectively. Analysis of variance for duplicate data at a significance level of 0.05 was used to analyze the data.

According to the results of this study, after performing eight weeks of DNS training, there was a significant difference in respiratory function (P = 0.001, F = 82.93), right FMS (P = 0.011, F = 51.00), Left FMS (P = 0.001, F = 46.09) and QOL (P = 0.001 F = 34.25) were created in the experimental group compared to before the training protocol and also in the control group (P < 0.05). Therefore, DNS exercises showed a significant effect on respiratory performance, functional tests, and quality of life of students with intellectual disabilities.

Based on the current results, it appears that DNS exercises can be used as an effective method for improving the breathing performance, functional tests, and quality of life of mentally disabled female students.