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Early physiotherapy ad modum Vojta or Bobath in infants with suspected neuromotor disturbance
Insights
Early physiotherapy for infants with neuromotor disturbances showed no statistically significant difference in preventing cerebral palsy (CP) between Vojta and Bobath methods. Further research is needed to clarify effectiveness and psychological aspects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neurology
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Early detection of neuromotor disturbances is crucial for intervention.
- Cerebral palsy (CP) development can be influenced by early therapeutic approaches.
- The Vojta and Bobath methods are common early physiotherapy interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of Vojta and Bobath physiotherapy in preventing cerebral palsy (CP).
- To evaluate the long-term outcomes of early physiotherapy in children with neuromotor disturbances.
- To investigate the impact of neonatal risk factors on treatment outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study followed 30 children with early neuromotor signs (Vojta criteria).
- Children were randomized into three groups: Vojta physiotherapy (10), Bobath physiotherapy (12), and a control group (8).
- Follow-up assessments were conducted until ages 33 months to 6 years.
Main Results:
- One child in the Vojta group, three in the Bobath group, and two in the control group developed "uncomplicated" CP.
- Observed differences in CP incidence between groups were not statistically significant.
- Neonatal risk factors were unevenly distributed, with the Bobath group having a higher burden.
Conclusions:
- Current data does not provide statistically significant evidence for the superiority of Vojta or Bobath physiotherapy in preventing CP.
- Larger studies are required to confirm the effectiveness of these early intervention methods.
- The psychological aspects of early physiotherapy, particularly the Vojta method, warrant further consideration.
Abstract:
Thirty children with early signs of cerebral neuromotor disturbances according to "Vojta criteria" were followed until the age of thirty-three months to six years. Twelve children were treated with early physiotherapy according to Bobath, ten children were treated according to Vojta and eight constituted a control group. The infants tended for early physical therapy were divided by random into two different groups. The neonatal risk factors, however, proved to be unevenly distributed among the infants in the Vojta- and the Bobath-treated groups - the latter being more heavily burdened in this respect. Vojta has claimed that his method of early physiotherapy is able to prevent the development of cerebral palsy (cp) of "uncomplicated" (but not of "complicated") type. At follow-up we found one child out of nine with "uncomplicated" cp in the Vojta group against three out of six in the Bobath- and two out of six in the control group. These differences, however, are not statistically significant. Further detailed studies with greater groups of children seem necessary to help us to clarify these problems. The psychological aspects of early physiotherapy should be thoroughly considered and this is particularly important in connection with the Vojta method.