DETERMINING THE OPTIMAL EXTERNAL WEIGHT FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT PROGRAM IN AN ADOLESCENT WITH FRIEDREICH ATAXIA: A CASE REPORT

Purpose: This study investigated the amount of external weight to optimize postural control, gait, and balance parameters in an adolescent with Friedreich ataxia (FRDA).

Method: The study included a 16-year-old adolescent (height: 1.57 m and weight: 60 kg) with FRDA. The adolescent's postural control, gait, and balance were evaluated by attaching different weights (unweight, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of the body weight (BW)) to the trunk. The Bertec Balance Check Screener™, GAITRite and Timed up and Go (TUG) were used to assess postural control (postural sway, limits of stability), gait, and dynamic balance, consecutively.

Results: Regarding limits of stability, the adolescent with FRDA performed best at 10% of BW in the anterio-posterior directions and at 15% of BW in the lateral directions. In the antero-posterior directions, the postural sway range on the normal surface was the lowest in unweighted and the lowest at 15% of BW on the perturbed surface. In the lateral directions, she performed the minimum postural sway range at 10% of BW on both the normal and perturbed surfaces. She had a higher cycle time, stride length and narrower support surface at 20% of BW. The value of TUG was the lowest at 20% of BW (10.44 sec).

Conclusion: These findings may contribute to the literature by revealing the need for individual determination of the optimal amount in external weighting applications in FRDA.