Comparison of efficiency of early term physiotherapy approach in babies with down syndrome: Bobath versus vojta

Abstract

Introduction:Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that causesgeneralized disability in motor function, language, and cogni-tive skills. Severe motor disability is reported, especially in thefirst few years of life. Different physiotherapy approaches andeducational programs are applied to minimize motor andintellectual disability. This study was planned to compare theefficacy of two different physiotherapy approaches that startedearly in infants with Down syndrome.Patients and method:Twenty-three infants with Down syn-drome (group 1:n=12, group 2:n=11) with an age range of0–24 months were included in the study. Infants were dividedrandomly into two groups: group 1 included 12 infants (6females, 6 males) for Bobath therapy and group 2 included 11infants (4 females, 7 males) for the Vojta approach. Two ses-sions per week for 6 weeks, a total of 12 sessions of physio-therapy were applied to the groups. Alberta Infant MotorScale (AIMS) was used to determine the motor developmentlevel of infants, before and after treatment. AIMS is a scalethat determines the motor skills and performance achieved inprone, supine, sitting, and standing positions.Results:The mean age of group 1 is 13.50 7.22 months and10.77 7.40 months for group 2. Before treatment, meanAIMS score was 31.83 12.94 in group 1 and 30.72 18.04 forgroup 2. After treatment, mean AIMS score was 40.16 12.20for group 1, and 38 17.66 for group 2. Both Bobath(p=0.002) and Vojta groups (p=0.002) had significant improve-ment. There was no statistically significant difference betweengroups when comparing the changes in AIMS scores(p=0.629).Conclusion:It has been determined that both early (Bobath andVojta) therapies in Downs syndrome affect infants motordevelopment positively.