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Objective: Pulmonary rehabilitation is mainly focused on exercise training and breathing retraining in children with asthma. Conversely, balance training is not usually recommended for the treatment, although postural deficits were found in these patients. Therefore, this study assessed the effect of balance training intervention on postural stability in children with asthma. Methods: Nineteen children with mild intermittent asthma (age 11.1 ± 2.1 years, height 147.6 ± 13.9 cm, weight 41.8 ± 13.3 kg) were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group and completed a four-week physiotherapy program including breathing exercises and aerobic physical training (six times/week, 45 minutes). Both groups performed the same training, but only the experimental group underwent exercises on balance devices. The center of pressure (CoP) velocity in the anteroposterior (Vy) and mediolateral (Vx) directions, and total CoP velocity (Vtot) were recorded before and after training in the preferred and the adjusted stances under eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) conditions. Results: The addition of balance intervention led to significant improvements of Vtot (p = 0.02, p = 0.04) in both types of stance, Vx in the preferred stance (p = 0.03) and Vy in the adjusted stance (p = 0.01) under EO conditions. Significant improvements were also found in Vy in the adjusted stance (p = 0.01) under EC conditions. Conclusions: Results of this study support the effectiveness of balance training as a part of physiotherapy treatment for improving balance performance, predominantly under EO conditions, in children with mild asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity and overweight are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation and are associated with balance disorders. Objective: To assess the postural stability in a natural stance in overweight and obese women based on center of pressure (CoP) velocity in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions. Methods: A total of 102 women categorized according to body mass index into normal weight, overweight and obese categories underwent a measurement of quiet standing with their eyes open (EO) and with their eyes closed (EC). Postural stability was assessed with a force platform. The mean CoP velocity was evaluated in both directions. Results: In the AP direction under EO conditions, obese women swayed significantly faster than normal weight women (1.01 cm/s and 0.80 cm/s). In the ML direction, a higher CoP velocity was observed in normal weight women than in obese women (0.52 cm/s and 0.41 cm/s). Under EC conditions in the AP direction, obese women swayed significantly faster than normal weight women (1.29 cm/s and 0.97 cm/s). In the ML direction, a higher CoP velocity was observed in normal weight women than in obese women (0.65 cm/s and 0.48 cm/s). Conclusions: Results suggest a negative impact of obesity on postural stability in the AP direction. In the ML direction, obese women were more stable than normal weight women, probably due to enlargement of the support base in a natural stance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]