Efeito das intervenções fisioterapêuticas precoces no desenvolvimento motor de crianças com Síndrome de Down: uma revisão de literatura

Abstract

Down syndrome (DS), or trisomy 21, is the chromosomal alteration most associated with intellectual disorders. Children with DS have many difficulties in motor development due to characteristics such as muscle hypotonia, ligament laxity, and changes in proprioception, coordination, and balance. Therefore, it is important to start early intervention (IE) in early childhood in order to promote improvements in motor development. The objective of this study is to present scientific evidence about the effects caused by early physiotherapy in DS. A literature review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) was carried out. A search was performed in the PubMed, PeDRO, and EMBASE databases, and 8 articles were included in the study, whose interventions were: treadmill gait training (n=5), early pediatric physiotherapy (n=1), therapeutic massage (n=1), and tummy time (n=1). The results of the studies demonstrated that treadmill gait training, especially high-intensity training, is effective in accelerating the development of gait in children with DS. Therapeutic massage improves muscle tone and motor development. Starting a prone position early allows for greater antigravity strength and improved performance in acquiring motor milestones. It has also been shown that children who received early physiotherapy had motor development closer to what was expected than children who started late. Given the above, it was possible to conclude that early physiotherapy interventions are of utmost importance and relevance for development. However, new studies with high quality and larger samples are needed to improve the quality of scientific evidence.