The effect of eight weeks of selected yoga and suspended exercises on motor performance and working memory of 7-9 year old boys with developmental coordination disorder

Jafari, Sima; Balali, Marzieh; Entezari Korasani, Zahra; Maleki, Behnam

doi:10.22038/mjms.2025.88170.5014

The effect of eight weeks of selected yoga and suspended exercises on motor performance and working memory of 7-9 year old boys with developmental coordination disorder

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Sima Jafari ¹

Marzieh Balali ²

Zahra Entezari Korasani ³

Behnam Maleki ⁴

¹ PhD student, Department of Motor Behavior, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author)

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Motor Behavior, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

⁴ Department of physical education and sport science, YI.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.22038/mjms.2025.88170.5014

Abstract

Introduction: Developmental coordination disorder is a motor and cognitive disorder, one of the characteristics of which is a disorder in motor function and memory process. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of a yoga and suspended exercise course on motor performance and working memory of children with developmental coordination disorder.
Materials and Methods: This study was a semi-experimental study that was conducted with a pre-test-post-test design on 7-9year old boys in Tehran. 45 children with developmental coordination disorder were randomly divided into three groups of 15 people: yoga, suspension and control exercises. The two experimental groups practiced for 8 weeks and 3 sessions of 45 minutes each week, but the control group did not exercise. BBT and PPT tests were used to evaluate gross and fine motor performance, respectively, and N-back test was used to evaluate working memory.
Results: The data were analyzed using multivariate covariance analysis with a significance level of P<0.05. The results showed that the yoga and suspension exercise program has a significant effect on working memory (P<0.05). Also, regarding the effect of training programs on motor performance, the results showed that there is a significant difference between the control and experimental groups in gross motor performance (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in fine motor performance (P>0.05).
Conclusion: The results show that yoga and hanging exercises can be effective in improving working memory and gross motor performance of DCD children. But training programs do not affect fine motor performance.

Keywords

Developmental coordination disorder

yoga exercises

suspended exercises

working memory

motor performance

Subjects