Designed game situations enhance fundamental movement skills in children with Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the effects of a designed program based on games situations with those of a conventional one, the Adapted Physical Education (APE) program, on the fundamental movement skills (FMS) in children with Down Syndrome (DS), aged 6 to 10. METHODS: Twenty-eight children (13 girls and 15 boys; age 8.84 ± 1.06) with DS participated in this study. The participants were divided into two groups as the experimental group (EG) with 13 children (3 girls and 10 boys) and the control group (CG) composed with 15 children (10 girls and 5 boys). The EG participated in a conceived training program based on games situations along 10 weeks, while the CG took part in an APE conventional program based on football, long Jump and sprint adapted exercises. The FMS (locomotor and object control skills) were evaluated using the Gross Motor Development-2 Test at pretraining and posttraining for both groups. RESULTS: The results revealed that both programs improve significantly locomotor skills with significantly better improvement in the EG. However, a significant object control skills improvement was observed only among the EG. CONCLUSIONS: In light of our findings, a training program based on adapted games situations during 10 weeks may be recommended for FMS improvement, specifically object control skills.

Surgical reconstruction of an unstable rheumatoid thumb deformity. A case report.

The thumb is frequently impaired in rheumatoid arthritis. This leads to major disability in affected patients. Through a clinical case, we describe a reconstructive strategy for a three-joint adduction thumb deformity that caused instability of the interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints, without cartilaginous lesion. Ulnar collateral ligament destruction was treated by a bone-ligament-bone graft at the interphalangeal joint and by a Littler ligamentoplasty at the metacarpophalangeal joint. The trapeziometacarpal lesion was treated by trapeziectomy in combination with suspension ligamentoplasty. Clinical and radiological assessments at 22 months of follow-up revealed good outcomes. This technique is a new option to include in the reconstructive treatment for thumb instability, particularly when caused by rheumatoid arthritis.

New type of hip arthroplasty failure related to modular femoral components: breakage at the neck-stem junction.

Total hip replacements (THR) with modular femoral components (stem-neck interface) make it possible to adapt to extramedullary femoral parameters (anteversion, offset, and length) theoretically improving muscle function and stability. Nevertheless, adding a new interface has its disadvantages: reduced mechanical resistance, fretting corrosion and material fatigue fracture. We report the case of a femoral stem fracture of the female part of the component where the modular morse taper of the neck is inserted. An extended trochanteric osteotomy was necessary during revision surgery because the femoral stump could not be grasped for extraction, so that a long stem had to be used. In this case, the patient had the usual risk factors for modular neck failure: he was an active overweight male patient with a long varus neck. This report shows that the female part of the stem of a small femoral component may also be at increased failure risk and should be added to the list of risk factors. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of this type of failure.