Abstract
Introduction: Muscle strength, a component for balance, gait and functional mobility is vital for children with visual impairment. Yoga has frequently been demonstrated to improve physical and
mental fitness in children. This study aimed to assess the effect of 16 weeks yoga training on muscular
fitness in children with visual impairment.
Methods: This was a wait-listed two-armed-matched
case–control study. Eighty (41 yoga, 39 control) visual impairment students of both genders aged 9-16 years matched on age, gender and degree of blindness
were assessed at pre, mid (after 8 weeks) and post (after 16 weeks)
yoga intervention using the Kraus-Weber test.
Results: The percentage of students passed
in yoga group were 12.2%, 43.9% and 68.3% whereas percentages in the control
group were 23.1%, 30.8% and 30.8% in pre, mid, and post tests respectively.
McNemar test showed significant differences between pre and mid, mid and post
in the yoga group while those parameters were not significantly different in
the control group. Yoga therapy seemed to have considerable benefits for the
children’s muscular fitness.
Conclusion: The study suggests that yoga have considerable
benefits for improvement of fitness level in children with visual impairment and may be recommended as
and effective, alternative, inexpensive low risk training activity option for
them.