Maze Balance Board Training Effects on Mobility and Motor Skills in Cognitively Impaired Children

Official title

Effects of Maze Balance Board Training on Functional Mobility and Gross Motor Skills in Children With Cognitive Impairment

Overview

The study will be a Randomized Controlled Trial including 22 children aged 6-10 years with deficits in functional mobility and gross motor skills. Participants will be randomly divided into an experimental group (n=11), receiving a seven-stage progressive Maze Balance Board protocol, and a control group (n=11), receiving conventional physical therapy. Both groups will undergo 30-minute sessions, three times per week, for 8 weeks. Eligible participants will be enrolled after guardian consent. Outcomes will be assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) for cognition, Timed Up and Go (TUG) test for functional mobility, and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2) for gross motor skills. Ethical approval will be obtained from Riphah International University, Lahore, and data will be analyzed using SPSS version 27.0.

Detailed description

Difficulties with Functional Mobility, Gross and fine motor skills are common in children with Cognitive Impairment, significantly impacting their ability to perform everyday activities and acquire new motor skills. These difficulties often arise from impaired integration of sensory information and deficits in motor planning, resulting in poor functional mobility and increased risk of instability. As a result, affected children may struggle with maintaining upright positions, transitioning between movements, and executing coordinated actions, all of which are essential for functional mobility and participation in age-appropriate activities. To address these concerns, this study will assess the effects of Maze Balance Board Training on Functional Mobility and Gross Motor Skills in Children with Cognitive Impairment.

The study design will be a Randomized Controlled Trial. The study will recruit 22 children aged 6-10 years with identified deficits in Functional Mobility and Gross motor skills.

Participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n=11) which will follow a seven-stage progressive Maze Balance board protocol, and a control group (n=11) receiving standard Conventional physical therapy exercises. These interventions will be performed for 30 mins, thrice a week over 8 weeks. All the referred participants will be assessed on the basis of eligibility criteria. Guardians of participants fulfilling the eligibility criteria will be asked to sign the consent forms before entering them to study. This study will utilize three standardized assessment tools to objectively measure Cognition level, Functional Mobility and gross motor skills in children with Cognitive Impairment: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to measure cognition, Time Up and Go (TUG) Test for the functional mobility, While the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2) for Gross Motor Skills. The synopsis will be presented to the Research Ethical Committee of Riphah International University, Lahore, for ethical approval to conduct this study. Data will be analyzed through SPSS version 27.0.

Interventions

• Other Maze Balance Board traing
  The experimental group (n=11) will receive Maze Balance Board Training in a one-on-one setting, conducted three times per week for 8 weeks. A seven-stage progressive protocol will be followed, where participants advance only after successfully completing each stage, with earlier stages revisited to reinforce learning. Stage 1 involves rotating a marble with hands; Stage 2 focuses on manual maze navigation; Stage 3 develops static balance on a board; Stage 4 includes unassisted rotational balance
• Other Conventional Physical Therapy
  The control group (n=11) will receive conventional physical therapy as a standard-of-care baseline, conducted to improve postural control and gross motor skills. Sessions will include structured exercises performed regularly throughout the study. Activities include animal walks (bear walk, bunny hops, frog jumps) to enhance core and limb strength; bridging exercises to strengthen glutes and hamstrings; sit-to-stand training to improve lower limb strength and functional movement; tandem walking t

Primary outcome measures

• Functional Mobility [Time frame: Baseline, 8 weeks]
• Gross motor Skills [Time frame: Baseline, 8 weeks]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Children aged 6-10 years
• Mild to Moderate Cognitive Impairment (MoCA score =18 to 25)
• Gross motor skill delay (10).
• Ability to follow verbal instructions
• Parents are willing to make sure their child's participation

Exclusion criteria

• Use of medications that may influence neuromotor functions (e.g., sedatives, antiepileptic's)
• Children with visual and hearing impairments
• Receiving concurrent therapies
• Recent lower limb injuries , surgeries, or musculoskeletal conditions

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Single blind

Primary purpose

Other

Study locations

Pakistan · 1 center

• Imran Amjad, PhD — Lahore

Publications

• Karnad SD, Narayan A, Kamath N, Rao BK, Sharma M, K VK. A protocol to evaluate the effect of Modified Scooter Board Therapy on Trunk Control and Hip muscles Activation in children with Cerebral Palsy. MethodsX. 2025 Apr 5;14:103301. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2025.103301. eCollection 2025 Jun. PMID 40255464

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07578896 · REC/RCR&AHS/24/Maryam Shafique

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗