AUTHOR=Feng Lei , Ren Yuanchun , Cheng Jia , Wang Yufeng 

TITLE=Balance Training as an Adjunct to Methylphenidate: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of Behavioral Improvement Among Children With ADHD in China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.552174

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2020.552174

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> This study aimed to compare the therapeutic effects of two different approaches to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): (1) methylphenidate (MPH) treatment combined with balance training, and (2) MPH monotherapy.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> The study was based on a randomized, single-blind trial involving 27 ADHD patients. An experimental group received the treatment combining MPH and balance training, while a control group were administered just MPH. After 40 sessions of training at the 6-month mark, patients' improvement as observed in their core symptoms and behavioral problems were compared between the experimental and control group.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A total of 27 patients underwent randomization, with 13 assigned to the experimental group and 14 to the control group. After the 6-month trial, the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of teachers' scores for inattention on the ADHD-RS-IV (19.38 ± 2.96 vs. 23.21 ± 3.91, <italic>t</italic> = −2.854, <italic>P</italic> = 0.009). The experimental group also showed greater improvement on the items involving behavior (3.14 ± 1.46 vs. 5.24 ± 1.04, <italic>t</italic> = 1.463, <italic>P</italic> = 0.026) and hyperactivity (1.92 ± 1.19 vs. 3.86 ± 2.32, <italic>t</italic> = −2.697, <italic>P</italic> = 0.012).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> In children with ADHD, the experimental group displayed a significant improvement in the symptoms and behavior associated with inattention than did the group whose treatment consisted of only MPH.</p>