Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 30, 2025
The Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill for Knee Osteoarthritis Rehabilitation
Published on: July 22, 2019
The Effects of Anti-gravity Treadmill Training on Gait Characteristics in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Insights
Antigravity treadmill training (AlterG) significantly improved walking ability and gait characteristics in children with cerebral palsy (CP). This therapy offers a promising approach for enhancing motor skills and independence in affected children.
Area of Science:
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Pediatric Physical Therapy
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder impacting muscle tone, movement, and motor skills, often leading to gait impairments and reliance on assistive devices.
- Traditional therapies aim to improve mobility, but novel approaches are needed to enhance gait characteristics in children with CP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of antigravity treadmill training (AlterG) in improving gait characteristics in children with cerebral palsy.
- To compare the effects of AlterG training with conventional occupational therapy on motor function and balance.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving children with cerebral palsy, with an experimental group (n=6) undergoing 8 weeks of AlterG training and a control group (n=4) receiving typical occupational therapy.
- Gait analysis using spatiotemporal parameters and dynamic balance features, alongside clinical assessments of walking speed, endurance, mobility, and balance, conducted pre- and post-intervention.
Main Results:
- The AlterG training group showed significantly greater improvements in spatiotemporal gait parameters, dynamic balance, walking speed, endurance, and overall mobility compared to the control group.
- Improvements in gait characteristics and functional mobility were observed after 8 weeks of AlterG intervention.
Conclusions:
- Antigravity treadmill training (AlterG) is an effective therapeutic approach for enhancing gait characteristics and improving walking ability in children with cerebral palsy.
- AlterG training offers a beneficial adjunct to traditional therapies for children with CP, promoting better motor function and independence.
Abstract:
Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement and motor skills. Most of the children with cerebral palsy (CP) are not able to walk or can walk in incorrect pattern and are dependent on assistive devices. Recently an antigravity treadmill has been found to be beneficial as a new therapeutic approach. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effects of antigravity treadmill training (AlterG) on gait characteristic in children with cerebral palsy. We provided a 45-minute training program, 3 times a week for 8 weeks for six CP children as our experimental group. Our control group was a group consisted of four CP children who took typical occupational therapy, accordingly. All subjects in both AlterG and control groups were evaluated at the gait lab before and after 8 weeks training. Gait patterns were characterized using spatiotemporal parameters and dynamic balance features. We also evaluated the popular clinical gait measures including walking speed and endurance, and mobility and balance.Our results demonstrated that spatiotemporal, dynamic balance and clinical features all improved more after 8 weeks AlterG training rather than control group ones. These findings suggest that AlterG training can be considered as an effective approach for improving walking ability and gait characteristics in children with cerebral palsy.
