Adapted Frenkle Exercises Versus Dynamic Balance Training in School Going Children

Comparison of Adapted Frenkel Exercises and Dynamic Balance Training on Balance, Gait, Mobility, and Motor Coordination in School-Going Children

A randomized clinical trial will be conducted at Realm Educational School. Children aged 6-12 years will be randomly assigned to either the AFE or DBT group using convenient sampling. Participants must be physically active and free from neurological, orthopedic, or cognitive impairments, while those with sensory impairments or recent musculoskeletal injuries will be excluded. Outcome measures will include the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS), Y-Balance Test, Observational Gait Scale (OGS), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and BOT-2. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will evaluate the effectiveness of both interventions on balance, gait, mobility, and motor coordination.

Balance, gait, mobility, and motor coordination are essential for the physical and functional development of school-going children and influence their participation in academic, recreational, and daily activities. The ages of 6-12 years represent a critical period for neuromuscular and postural maturation, making early motor interventions particularly effective. Deficits in these skills may result in reduced physical activity, poor posture, and social withdrawal. This study compares Adapted Frenkel Exercises (AFE), which focus on slow, visually guided, and controlled movements to enhance coordination and proprioception, with Dynamic Balance Training (DBT), which uses functional, task-specific activities such as balance beam walking, multidirectional stepping, and hopping to improve stability during movement. A randomized clinical trial will be conducted at Realm Educational School over 10 weeks (2 sessions per week). Each session will be of 40 minutes. Children aged 6-12 years will be randomly assigned to either the AFE or DBT group using convenient sampling. Participants must be physically active and free from neurological, orthopedic, or cognitive impairments, while those with sensory impairments or recent musculoskeletal injuries will be excluded. Outcome measures will include the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS), Y-Balance Test, Observational Gait Scale (OGS), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and BOT-2. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will evaluate the effectiveness of both interventions on balance, gait, mobility, and motor coordination.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Healthy school-going children aged 8-10 years
2. Both male and female participants
3. No history of neurological, orthopedic, or developmental disorders
4. Informed parental consent and child assent obtained
5. MMSE score ≥ 24
6. TUG score < 20 seconds
7. Pediatric Berg Balance Scale score ≥ 40

Exclusion Criteria:

1. History of diagnosed balance or coordination issues.
2. Children with orthopedic and motor impairments.
3. Behavior or attention disorders limiting participation.
4. Neuromuscular conditions, Visual and mental disorders