The effectiveness of non-drug correction using swimming methods for autonomic disorders in children with connective tissue dysplasia syndrome

Abstract

The development of new effective methods to correct vegetative disorders in children with connective tissue dysplasia syndrome is an urgent issue. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic swimming as part of a comprehensive wellness program for non-drug correction of autonomic disorders in preschool children with connective tissue dysplasia. Materials and methods: A dynamic one-year follow up was conducted involving 254 preschool-age patients diagnosed with hereditary connective tissue dysplasia and presenting with autonomic disorders. The study employed a randomized method to assign participants to either the main group (n = 132) or the control group (n = 122). All children underwent a course of comprehensive rehabilitation treatment with the inclusion of physiotherapy procedures, massage, balanced nutrition and vitamin prophylaxis. A correction method was provided for patients of the main group, including therapeutic swimming in the pool for 1 hour 3 times a week for 1 year. Swimming was complemented by physical therapy in the gym for 45 minutes 2 times a week. Results. In the process of dynamic control, positive dynamics was statistically reliably established in children of the main group, such pathological symptoms as tearfulness, headache, pain in the cervical spine, poor sleep, fatigue, and fatigue feeling were minimized. In the control group, the positive dynamics was much less pronounced. After 1 year of recovery, testing of children's physical qualities showed a significant increase in the values of indicators in children of the main group compared with the control one. Conclusions. In the dynamic process it is advisable to include swimming in the pool in combination with physical therapy for patients with vegetative pathological manifestations in the correction schemes in a timely manner. It helps to stabilize the vegetative imbalance, achieve reliably significant results, and increase the patient’s physical fitness.