Effect of shockwave therapy on kinematic gait parameters in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy

Abstract

Background/aims Extracorporeal shockwave therapy might be a considerable substitute to present treatment alternatives to reduce spasticity and improve range of motion in patients with cerebral palsy, which could improve their quality of life and gait pattern. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of extracorporeal shockwave therapy on gait parameters in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Methods A total of 34 children with spastic diplegia (19 boys and 15 girls) participated in the study. Their ages ranged from 5–7 years (mean 5.8 ± standard deviation 1.2 years). They were randomly assigned into two equal groups, the study and the control group. Both groups received the traditional physiotherapy programme, three sessions a week consecutively for 3 months. Children in the study group also received extracorporeal shockwave therapy one session a week for 3 months. Results There was a significant improvement of spasticity, step length and stride width in the control group (P=0.017, 0.015, 0.033 respectively). Walking speed did not show a significant change in the control group (P=0.1). In the study group, there was a significant improvement in spasticity, stride length, stride width, and walking speed (P=0.0001, 0.005, 0.029, 0.014 respectively). Comparing the gained improvement in the study and the control group, the results showed that the improvement in the study group significantly exceeded that of the control group in spasticity, stride length, stride width and walking speed (P=0.0003, 0.011, 0.043, 0.002 respectively). Conclusions Extracorporeal shockwave therapy is effective in reducing spasticity and improving gait patterns in children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy.