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Effect of crawling training on the cognitive function of children with cerebral palsy
1Department of Pediatrics.
Insights
Crawling training significantly improves cognitive function and motor skills in children with cerebral palsy. This therapy enhances crawling ability, language, intelligence, memory, and attention, showing high clinical efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) presents significant challenges in motor and cognitive development.
- Effective therapeutic interventions are crucial for improving functional outcomes in children with CP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of crawling training on the cognitive function of patients with cerebral palsy.
- To compare the clinical efficacy of crawling training versus standard movement training in children with CP.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 36 patients with cerebral palsy in the experimental group (crawling training) and 32 in the control group (normal movement training).
- Evaluated crawling function, cognitive and language abilities, intelligence (IQ/DQ), memory, and attention before and after interventions using standardized scales.
Main Results:
- Crawling training demonstrated significantly higher total treatment efficiency (94.44%) compared to normal movement training (71.87%).
- Both groups showed improvements in crawling, cognitive/language functions, intelligence, and attention post-treatment.
- The experimental group exhibited significantly greater improvements across all assessed domains compared to the control group.
Conclusions:
- Crawling training is highly effective in improving motor, cognitive, and language functions in children with cerebral palsy.
- This therapeutic approach enhances intelligence, memory, and attention, indicating significant clinical value for CP rehabilitation.
Abstract:
Our aim is to investigate the influence of crawling training on the cognitive function of patients with cerebral palsy. This study compared the clinical efficacy of crawling training on 36 patients with cerebral palsy (the experimental group) and 32 patients treated with normal movement training (the control group). We compared the crawling function (The Movement Function Scale for Infants with Cerebral Palsy), cognitive and language function (The Comprehensive Functional Rating Scale for Children with Disabilities), intelligence [IQ and DQ scores in the Chinese Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (C-WISC)], memory and attention (the attention/nondistraction factor in the C-WISC) changes of the children before and after treatment. The total treatment efficiency of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (94.44 vs. 71.87%, P = 0.012). The scores for crawling function, cognitive and language functions, intelligence quotient, development quotient and attention factor increased notably in both groups after treatment, and there was a statistical difference compared with the scores of each group before treatment (P < 0.05 for all). After treatment, the scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Crawling training has good clinical efficacy for patients with cerebral palsy. It can improve patients' crawling, cognitive and language functions as well as their intelligence, memory and attention, and it has value for clinical application.

