Gait changes following robot-assisted gait training in children with cerebral palsy.

Abstract

This study investigated changes of gait pattern induced by a 4-week robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) in twelve ambulatory spastic diparesis children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 10.4+/-3.2 years old by using computerized gait analysis (CGA). Pre-post intervention CGA data of children with CP was contrasted to the normative data of typically developing children by using cross-correlation and statistically evaluated by a Wilcoxon test. Significant pre-post intervention changes (p<0.01) include: decreased muscle activity of biceps femoris, rectus femoris, and tibialis anterior; a decrease in range of internal hip joint rotation, higher cadence, step length, and increased stride time. This study suggests that RAGT can be used in muscle reeducation and improved hip joint motion range in ambulatory children with CP.