INFLUENCE OF A FUNCTIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM ON CARDIORRESPIRATORY FITNESS AND FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY IN INDIVIDUALS WITH DOWN SYNDROME: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have a sedentary lifestyle and, consequently, a low cardiorespiratory fitness and functional capacity, which can often negatively influence their daily activities. The objective was to verify the influence of an eight-week functional training program (TF) on functional capacity and cardiorespiratory fitness in individuals with DS belonging to the APAE school in the city of Tomazina-PR. The work was approved by CEP 1.215,776 five individuals with DS, aged between 17 and 35 years participated in the study, in which an intervention program was applied over an eight-week period consisting of ten functional physical exercises worked in the form of a circuit. The data were treated using non-parametric statistics and Gross Delta and percentage Delta (?%) of each variable. The level of significance adopted to verify changes between the pre and post intervention moments was (P> 0.05). The results indicated that after the TF program, there was an increase in the distance covered by all participants through the six-minute walk test (WT6m), with an average increase of 3.1% in the distance covered after the intervention. In relation to the Timed “Up and Go” (TUG) functional test, there was an average reduction in time of -12.66%, when compared to the pre-intervention moment. It`s possible conclude that the TF program presented itself as an accessible and viable tool, contributing to the improvement of the cardiovascular system and the functional mobility of individuals with DS.

Received on: 04/06/2020

Reformulated on: 06/142020

Accepted: 06/15/2020