A Study of Postural Control Characteristics in Schoolchild with Intellectual Disability

초등학교 지적장애아동의 자세조절 특성

This study aims to provide the basic data of the rehabilitation program for the schoolchild with intellectual disability by designing new framework of the features of postural control for the schoolchild with intellectual disability. For this, the study investigated what sensations the schoolchild are using to maintain posture by selectively or synthetically applying vision, vestibular sensation and somato-sensation, and how the coordinative sensory system of the schoolchild is responding to any sway referenced sensory stimulus. The study intended to prove the limitation of motor system in estimating the postural stability by providing the cognitive motor task, and provided the features of postural control of the schoolchild with intellectual disability by measuring the onset times and orders of muscle contraction of neuron-muscle when there is a postural control taking place due to the exterior disturbance. Furthermore, by comparatively analyzing the difference between the normal schoolchild and the intellectually disabled schoolchild, this study provided an optimal direction for treatment planning when the rehabilitation program is applied in the postural control ability training program for the schoolchild with intellectual disability. Taking gender and age into consideration, 52 schoolchild including 26 normal schoolchild and 26 intellectually disabled schoolchild were selected. To measure the features of postural control, CTSIB test, and postural control strategy test were conducted. The result of experiment is as followed. First, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed different feature in using sensory system to control posture. The normal schoolchild tended to depend on somato-sensory or vision, and showed a stable postural control toward a sway referenced stimulus on somato-sensory system. The schoolchild with intellectual disability tended to use somato-sensory or vision, and showed a very instable postural control toward a sway referenced vision or a sway referenced stimulus on somato-sensory system. In sensory analysis, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed lower level of proficiency in somato-sensation percentile, vision percentile and vestibular sensation percentile compare to the normal schoolchild. Second, as for the onset times and orders of muscle contraction for strategies of postural control when there is an exterior physical stimulus, the schoolchild with intellectual disability showed a relatively delayed onset time of muscle control, and it was specially greater when the perturbation is from backward. As for the onset orders of muscle contraction, it started from muscles near coax then moved to the muscles near ankle joint, and the numbers and kinds of muscles involved were greater than the normal schoolchild. The normal schoolchild showed a fast muscle contracting reaction from every direction after the perturbation stimulus, and the contraction started from the muscles near the ankle joint and expanded to the muscles near coax. From the results of the experiments, the special feature of the postural control of the schoolchild with intellectual disability is that they have a higher dependence on vision in sensory system, and there was no appropriate integration of swayed sensation observed in upper level of central nerve system. In the motor system, the onset time of muscle contraction for postural control was delayed, and it proceeded in reversed order of the normal schoolchild. Therefore, when use the clinical physical therapy to improve the postural control ability, various sensations should be provided and should train the schoolchild to efficiently use the provided sensations and use the sensory experience recorded in upper level of central nerve system to improve postural control ability. At the same time, a treatment program that can improve the processing ability of central nerve system through meaningful activities with organizing and planning adapting reaction should be provided. Also, a proprioceptive motor control training program that can induce faster muscle contraction reaction and more efficient onset orders from muscularskeletal system is need to be provided as well.

본 연구는 초등학교 지적장애아동의 자세조절 특성을 파악하기 위해 시각, 안뜰감각 그리고 몸감각을 조합하여, 실험 조건에 따라 자세유지를 위하여 어떤 감각을 활용하고 있는지, 부적절한 감각자극에 대해서 통합시스템에서 어떻게 반응하는지, 외부 동요에 대해 신경근육의 자세조절 전략 시 동원되는 근육의 수축 개시시간과 개시순서를 각각 측정하여, 지적장애 아동의 자세조절 특성을 살펴보고, 나아가 초등학교 지적장애아동과 일반아동 간에 어떠한 차이가 있는지를 비교분석하여 자세조절능력 향상 프로그램에 적용 시 방향을 제시해주는데 있다. 이를 위하여 성별과 연령을 고려하여 초등학교 지적장애아동 26명과 일반아동 26명의 아동으로부터 자세조절능력을 비교하였다. 그 결과 자세조절과 감각계와의 관계를 파악한 평형점수와 감각활용 분석, 엉덩관절 전략에 의지하는 자세조절 전략, 근수축 개시지연과 근수축 개시순서의 변화 등을 종합해 볼 때 초등학교 지적장애아동의 자세조절의 문제는 운동시스템, 감각시스템, 통합시스템의 자세조절 시스템 전반에 걸친 총체적인 문제로 나타났다. 따라서 초등학교 지적장애아동의 자세조절 문제 해결을 위해서는 운동시스템, 감각시스템, 통합시스템을 포함하는 포괄적 자세조절 훈련 프로그램의 접근이 필요하다는 것을 알 수 있다. 자세조절 프로그램을 구성할 때, 다양한 감각을 제공하여 주고, 제공된 감각을 효율적으로 활용할 수 있는 감각훈련과 함께 고위중추에서 입력된 감각들을 정상적인 자세조절 발달에 활용할 수 있도록 훈련 시켜주어야 한다. 적응 반응을 계획하고 조직화하여 의미 있는 활동을 통해 중추신경계의 처리능력을 향상시키는 치료프로그램이 제공되어야 한다. 또한 자세조절을 안정적으로 할 수 있는 안정성 한계를 넓힐 수 있는 신경발달학적 치료와 함께, 근골격계에서 빠른 근수축 반응과 효율적인 근수축 개시순서를 유발 할 수 있도록 고유수용성 운동조절 프로그램, 자세반응 촉진 프로그램과 같은 훈련이 필요하다고 할 수 있다.