abstract

Abstract:

Aims: This study talk about the importance of physical therapy in the treatment for the children with Down’s syndrome.  It’s a genetic disease causes by a trisomy in the 21 chromosome. It’s almost associated to the mother’s age. The probabilities of a 20 year old women to have a Down’s children is 1 over 200 births, but in a 45 year old women increase to 1 over 20. The people who have this alteration are mentally impaired and have physical features like flat and broad face and diminished muscle tone. My purpose is explained how the physical therapist help to this children, in what areas and why is the importance of this treatment.

Methods: A group of physical therapist studied the disease and the physical consequences of it. They developed treatments for neuronal, muscularly and respiratory alterations. To prove it, they treated 100 children with this disease between 0 and 10 years of age.

Results: children’s muscle tone got better; they improved their coordination, their relations, their body weight and presented less respiratory infections. All the children showed improvements, but the newborns had remarkable changes.

The 10 year old children improved too, not in a significant way.

Conclusions: The Physical therapy treatment is very important and is necessary start with it as soon as possible. It improves coordination and educates the patients by stimulation, maintain appropriate body weight, maintain good hygiene to avoid infections and bronquial secretions and control aerobics exercise by training on cardiac and respiratory work.