Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 6, 2025
Author Spotlight: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined with Movement Observation in Cerebral Palsy
Published on: August 9, 2024
Effects of modified pilates on trunk, postural control, gait and balance in children with cerebral palsy: a
Hatice Adıguzel1, Bulent Elbasan2
1Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, 46100, Dulkadiroglu, Kahramanmaras, Turkey. fzthatis@gmail.com.
Insights
Modified Pilates exercises (MPE) significantly improved trunk control, postural control, gait, and balance in children with cerebral palsy (CP) compared to neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT). MPE offers a beneficial alternative treatment for children with CP.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physical therapy
- Neurological rehabilitation
- Motor control in children
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) significantly impacts motor function, including trunk control, posture, gait, and balance.
- Traditional therapies like neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) are used, but alternative approaches are continuously explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of modified Pilates exercises (MPE) against NDT for improving trunk control, postural control, gait, and balance in children with CP.
- To evaluate MPE as a potential alternative therapeutic intervention for pediatric CP.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 18 children with CP (GMFCS I-III) assigned to MPE or NDT groups.
- Both groups received physiotherapy twice weekly for 8 weeks.
- A comprehensive battery of assessments was used, including trunk control, postural control, balance, gait, and muscle strength measures.
Main Results:
- The MPE group (Group A) demonstrated significant improvements across multiple measures compared to the NDT group (Group B).
- Key improvements favoring MPE were observed in seated postural control, trunk control, gait parameters (Observational Gait Scale), and core stability tests (abdominal fatigue, modified side bridge, pressure biofeedback, sit-ups).
- Percentage changes from baseline also showed significant advantages for the MPE group in balance and core strength assessments.
Conclusions:
- Modified Pilates exercises (MPE) show a positive and significant effect on trunk control, postural control, gait, and balance in children with cerebral palsy.
- MPE can be considered an effective alternative treatment strategy for managing motor deficits in children with CP.
- This study provides evidence supporting the integration of MPE into rehabilitation programs for pediatric CP.
Objective:
This study aimed to determine the effects of modified pilates exercises (MPE) and neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) on trunk, postural control, gait, and balance in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
Methods:
18 children with CP between gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) I and III were randomized into two groups as study (Group A, MPE) and control (Group B, NDT). Physiotherapy (PT) took place 2 days a week for 8 weeks. Trunk control measurement scale (TCMS), seated postural control measurement (SPCM), pediatric reach test (PRT), pediatric berg balance measurement (PBBM), 6 minute walking test (6MWT), observational gait scale (OGS), core stability performance measurements, and muscle strength tests were performed.
Results:
Mean age of group A (n = 9) was 9 ± 1.58 years, and group B (n = 9) was 10 ± 2.73 years. Significant differences were found in the SPCM posture (p = 0.000), TCMS (p = 0.004), OGS right (p = 0.019) and left (p = 0.001) scores, abdominal fatigue test (AFT) (p = 0.014), modified side bridge (MSBT) test (right p = 0.04, left p = 0.031), pressure biofeedback unit test (PBU) (p = 0.024), and sit-ups test (SUT) (p = 0.011) in favor of group A. According to the initial measurements of the percentage changes of the tests, significantly difference was found in PBBMR (p = 0.001), PBBML (p = 0.000), SPCM posture (0.001), TCMS (0.000), MBSTET (0.000), MSBT left (p = 0.034), AFT (p = 0.002), PBU (p = 0.015), SUT (p = 0.000), MPUT (p = 0.018), and OGS right (p = 0.029) in favor of group A.
Conclusion:
The results revealed that MPEs in children with CP positively affects trunk, postural control, gait, and balance compared to NDT. It is concluded that MPE can be used as an alternative treatment approach in children with CP. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER/DATE OF REGISTRATION/STUDY START DATE/URL OF THE RECORD: NCT04035954/ 24/07/2019/ August 1, 2019/ https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04035954 .
