Posterior walker assisted on gait performance in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Walking is an important basic skill for human. And it is also an important index in childhood development. It can increase muscle contraction and range of motion of lower extremities, and enhance trunk control. But some children can’t do walking well congenitally or acquired. They may have disability in walking or delay in motor development. Cerebral palsy is a common group in clinic [1]. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition characterized by a motor disorder that is usually diagnosed during the early stages of life. Many CP children have difficulties in walking independently because of poor muscle strength, abnormal muscle tone, or poor postural control [1,2]. They often be prescribed with walkers to help stability and support when ambulation, especially spastic diplegic CP [3]. In ambulation, they may need some assistive devices to help them. The prescription of the walkers should be well-considered. The ability and limitation of users, the structures and parameters of the walkers, and the usage of the users to walkers are all should be considered. And it should be quantified and objective. However, it is still decided by subjective views of therapists and physician in clinic. So we can’t understand how to match the users’ goal with the walker parameters and the users’ abilities efficiently and currently. The purpose of this study is to analyze the gait performance of children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy when these children use posterior walker with different heights.