Muscle Activation and Movement Responses in Youth with and without Mental Retardation

Muscle reaction function of individuals with intellectual disabilities may be improved through therapeutic use of a horse

“…Davis (1987) suggested that muscle activation and EMG variability could be the reason for the movement delays observed in this population. However, Horvat et al (2003) did not confirm these findings as they observed similar patterns of consistency across trials in motor unit recruitment and muscle activation for individuals with and without ID. However, it has been suggested that visual and vestibular information are not used effectively by individuals with ID, since movements are often delayed or inefficient (Horvat, Croce, & Zagrodnik, 2010).…”

“…Previous studies have reported longer reaction times in individuals with ID (Horvat, Ramsey, Amestoy, & Croce, 2003;Zafeiridis et al, 2010). Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms for these differences have not been extensively studied (Inui, Yamanishi, & Tada, 1995;LeClair & Elliott, 1995;Un & Erbahçeci, 2001).…”

Gait and Balance

“…Under these constraints they produce gait patterns that may differ from the ones of people without ID or any other neuromuscular or musculoskeletal disorder. On the other hand, deviations from typical gait patters in people with ID may be attributed to symptoms that coexist with the disease, such as hypotonia (Croce et al 1996;Horvat et al 2003), muscle strength deficits (Pitetti et al 1992), impairments in the function of the cerebellum (Pinter et al 2001), joint laxity (Livingstone and Hirst 1986), and reduced plantar flexion moments (Cioni et al 2001;Cipriani et al 2012;Ulrich et al 2004).…”

“…Low performance in several motor skills, including gait and balance is well documented and has multiple intrinsic and extrinsic causes. For instance, causes for impaired balance could be a potential deficit in muscle strength (Pitetti et al 1992), hypotonia (Croce et al 1996;Horvat et al 2003), and joint laxity (Livingstone and Hirst 1986). Beyond motor diseases that are often coherent to ID, inadequate development of the central nervous system, the level of physical activity, and premature aging are some of causes which are analyzed below.…”

Development and Standardization of a Test of Motor Proficiency in Children with Intellectual Disabilities in India

“…Insufficient physical activity further limits the person's autonomy in activities of daily living (Piek, Dawson, Smith and Gasson, 2008) which negatively affects their health (Carbo-Carrete, Guardia-Olmos and Gine 2016). The sedentary lifestyle results in lower balance performance, overall motor functioning (Giagazoglou et al, 2012;Horvat, Ramsey, Amestoy and Croce, 2003;Lin et al, 2010;Yildirim, Erbahceci, Ergun, Pitetti and Beets, 2010), and motor impairments among inactive individuals with intellectual disabilities (Carmeli, Bar-Yossef, Ariav, Levy and Liebermann, 2008). Motor deficits are commonly reported in persons with intellectual disabilities since this condition can affect cognitive and motor functions (Cleaver, Hunter and Ouellette-Kuntz, 2009;Hartman, Houwen, Scherder and Visscher, 2010;Vuijk, Hartman, Scherder and Visscher, 2010).…”