Posture and dyslexia

We know that exercise is considered generally good for learning. We even know that certain forms of exercise are more beneficial than others since they favor specific parts of the brain, more so. Recently (2015), researchers wanted to know if postural training could improve postural control of dyslexic children.

32 dyslexic children were studied. 16 of them participated in a specific postural exercise program.

According to the Psychiatric American Association, dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder characterized by a difficulty to read even if the intelligence of the reader is adequate, that he is educated and motivated to read.

The literature indicates that, generally speaking, dyslexic children have poorer postural control than children of the same age that are not dyslexic. These symptoms can make us think of an immature cerebellum.
Other studies stipulate that dyslexic children have less balance.

With the use of medical imagery, it has been demonstrated that dyslexic children could have a smaller right anterior lobe of the cerebellum. As well, it has been demonstrated that the brain of dyslexic children could be smaller.

When one considers that the brain is plastic and that we can modify the way it organizes motor or cognitive responses, in the context of the study provided here (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0130196, the hypothesis was formulated that a regimen of postural exercises could help these children acquire better balance.

The researchers did, indeed, demonstrate that postural training could improve the postural control of the participants.

So the question we should ask ourselves is the following: had we improved proprioception of these dyslexic children with Posturology, would the results have been better?

It is subconscious proprioception that activates the cerebellum, which is affected in the present case. And since the cerebellum is responsible for coordination and motor efficacy, it’s hard to think that results would not have been even better!