Personalized rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy using three-dimensional gait analysis

Abstract

Objective To study the effectiveness of personalized rehabilitation treatments based on threedimensional gait analysis (3DGA) for improving the walking function of children with cerebral palsy (CP).Methods A total of 21 spastic CP children with diplegia or hemiplegia,IQ scores ＞60,and an average age of 8.5 years received 3DGA.They then received personalized rehabilitation treatment designed according to the 3DGA results.After four weeks of treatment the children accepted 3DGA again.Their gait descriptors before and after treatment were compared. Results After the personalized rehabilitation the subjects'clinical foot dorsiflexion angle,clinical popliteal fossa angle,walking velocity,stride length,step length,peak ankle dorsiflexion in prime stance,peaking ankle plantar flexion in last stance,peak back ground reaction forces (GRFs) and peak vertical GRF in stance all had improved significantly.The cadence,total support time,swing phase,initial double support time,peak knee extension in stance and the peak forward GRF were not,however,significantly different compared with before the personalized rehabilitation treatment. Conclusion Under the guidance of 3DGA,the walking function of spastic CP children improved significantly after 4 weeks of personalized rehabilitation treatment.3DGA can play an important role in formulating personalized rehabilitation protocols and guiding rehabilitation treatment for CP children. Key words: Three-dimensional gait analysis; Cerebral palsy; Rehabilitation