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Effect of backward walking training on postural balance in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy: a randomized
Heba M Youssr El-Basatiny1, Amr Almaz Abdel-Aziem2
1Department of Physical Therapy for Growth and Developmental Disorders in Children and its Surgery, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Egypt Physical Therapy Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Backward walking training significantly improved postural control in children with cerebral palsy. This enhanced physical therapy approach showed better results than traditional methods alone.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
- Physical Therapy
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders affecting movement and posture.
- Hemiparetic CP, affecting one side of the body, presents challenges in postural control.
- Traditional physical therapy is the cornerstone of management for children with CP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of incorporating backward walking training into standard physical therapy for children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
- To assess the effects on various indices of postural stability.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled study involving 30 children (10-14 years) with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
- Participants were assigned to either an experimental group (traditional therapy + backward walking) or a control group (traditional therapy only) for 12 weeks.
- Postural control was evaluated using the Biodex balance system, measuring overall, anteroposterior, and mediolateral stability.
Main Results:
- The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in overall, anteroposterior, and mediolateral stability indices compared to the control group (P < 0.05).
- Both groups showed significant improvements in all measured variables, but the backward walking group exhibited superior gains.
- Improvements were noted at both the most stable and moderately unstable levels on the Biodex balance system.
Conclusions:
- Integrating backward walking training into traditional physical therapy programs enhances postural stability in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
- Backward walking training offers a beneficial adjunct to conventional therapies for improving balance in this population.
- This study highlights a targeted intervention to improve functional outcomes for children with hemiparetic CP.
Objective:
To study the effect of additional backward walking training on postural control in children with hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
Design:
Randomized controlled study.
Setting:
Physical therapy clinics.
Subjects:
Thirty spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsied children of both sexes (10-14 years, 14 girls and 16 boys).
Intervention:
Children were randomly assigned into two equal groups: experimental and control groups. Both groups received a traditional physical therapy program for 12 weeks. Experimental group additionally received backward walking training which was provided 25 min/day, 3 days/week for 3 successive months.
Outcome Measures:
Baseline and post-treatment assessment for overall, anteroposterior, and mediolateral stability indices were evaluated by using Biodex balance system.
Results:
After treatment; two way ANOVA revealed significant improvement in overall, anteroposterior and mediolateral stability indices of experimental group at the most stable level (level 12) and moderately unstable level (level 7) (1.40 ± 0.44 and 1.73 ± 0.51; 1.11 ± 0.34 and 2.13 ± 0.52; 1.93 ± 0.51 and 2.68 ± 0.52) respectively, than control group (1.77 ± 0.44 and 2.17 ± 0.56; 1.44 ± 0.44 and 2.54 ± 0.49; 2.39 ± 0.65 and 3.11 ± 0.49) respectively, (P < 0.05). There were significant improvement in all measured variables for both groups at both levels (P < 0.05).
Conclusion:
Additional backward walking training to traditional physical therapy program yields improvement in postural stability indices in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy than traditional physical therapy alone.
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