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Pedometer-based gait training in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled study
Nashwa Sayed Hamed1, Manal Salah Abd-elwahab
1Physical Therapy Department for Neuromuscular Disorders and its Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Egypt. nashwahamed@gmail.com
Insights
Pedometer-based gait training significantly improved walking velocity and stride length in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy. This method offers a valuable approach for enhancing gait parameters in this population.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Biomechanical Engineering
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting motor function.
- Spastic hemiparetic CP specifically impacts one side of the body, leading to gait abnormalities.
- Effective interventions are crucial for improving mobility and quality of life in affected children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of pedometer-based gait training in modifying gait parameters.
- To compare pedometer-based gait training with traditional gait training in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 30 children diagnosed with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
- Participants were allocated to either pedometer-based gait training or traditional gait training for three months.
- Gait parameters, including walking velocity, stride length, cadence, and cycle duration, were assessed using 3D motion analysis before and after the intervention period.
Main Results:
- The pedometer-based gait training group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all measured gait parameters compared to the control group.
- Walking velocity showed a substantial increase in the study group (0.26 ± 0.07 change score) versus the control group (0.06 ± 0.05 change score).
- Cadence also improved significantly in the study group (-5.8 ± 2.1 change score) compared to the control group (-0.86 ± 0.05 change score).
Conclusions:
- Pedometer-based gait training is an effective intervention for enhancing gait parameters in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
- This training approach offers a practical and beneficial tool for rehabilitation.
- Further research can explore long-term effects and optimal protocols for pedometer-based interventions.
Objective:
To study the effect of pedometer-based gait training on changing gait parameters in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
Design:
Two group randomized controlled trial with pre-treatment and post-treatment measures.
Setting:
Rehabilitation clinics.
Subjects:
Thirty spastic hemiparetic children with cerebral palsy of both sexes (13 females and 17 males) ranging in age from six to eight years old with mean age 7.05 ± 0.78 years.
Interventions:
Children were randomized equally to receive pedometer-based gait training or a traditional gait training programme three times per week for three successive months.
Main Measures:
Assessment was done before and after three months of treatment application using 3D motion analysis system with six pro-reflex cameras to evaluate spatiotemporal gait parameters. The primary outcome measure was the walking velocity while the secondary outcome measures were stride length, cadence and cycle duration.
Results:
There was a high statistically significant improvement in favour of the study group more than the control group concerning all the measured gait parameters. T-test results showed that velocity was 0.68 ± 0.09 m/sec (0.26 ± 0.07 change score) for study group and 0.42 ± 0.11 m/sec (0.06 ± 0.05 change score) for control group (t = 6.2) (P < 0.0001) while cadence was much less significant 124.3 ± 4.3 step/min (-5.8 ± 2.1 change score) for study group and 128.7 ± 4.1 step/min (-0.86 ± 0.05 change score) for control group (t = 2.8) (P < 0.008).
Conclusion:
Pedometer-based gait training is a useful tool that can be used in improving gait parameters in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
