Static and Dynamic Gait Parameters Before and After Multilevel Soft Tissue Surgery in Ambulating Children With Cerebral Palsy

Background/aims Both upper and lower limbs interact through neural coupling. Such interconnection leads to rhythmic interlimb coordination, which affects the central pattern generator for the lower limbs. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training on muscle activity and gait parameters in children with cerebral palsy. Methods A total of 9 children with cerebral palsy were recruited for 20 sessions of repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training. They were tested before and after completion of this training using surface electromyography, spatiotemporal gait parameters assessments and clinical tests. A paired t-test was used to investigate differences in participants' vasti and hamstring activity, spatiotemporal gait parameters, and clinical test results before and after the training. Results Participants' vasti muscle activity increased significantly after the repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training, but there was no significant change in their hamstring muscles. However, spatiotemporal gait parameters and clinical motor function improved significantly. Conclusions Repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training may be suitable as an effective exercise in gait training programmes for children with cerebral palsy.

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GP11 Efficacy of soft tissue surgery for flexion knee contractures in children with cerebral palsy

10.1136/archdischild-2019-epa.78 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Volkova ◽

Konstantin Zherdev ◽

Oleg Chelpachenko ◽

Ivan Nikitenko

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Soft Tissue ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy ◽

Soft Tissue Surgery

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Radiographic outcome of soft-tissue surgery for hip subluxation in non-ambulatory children with cerebral palsy

Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics B ◽

10.1097/01.bpb.0000191867.93022.88 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 109-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Richard E. Bowen ◽

Douglas K. Kehl

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Soft Tissue ◽

Radiographic Outcome ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy ◽

Soft Tissue Surgery

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Kinematic and EMG Responses to Pelvis and Leg Assistance Force during Treadmill Walking in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2016/5020348 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ming Wu ◽

Janis Kim ◽

Pooja Arora ◽

Deborah J. Gaebler-Spira ◽

Yunhui Zhang

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Muscle Activation ◽

Step Length ◽

Swing Phase ◽

Treadmill Walking ◽

The Body ◽

Treadmill Training ◽

Gait Parameters ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy ◽

Before And After

Treadmill training has been used for improving locomotor function in children with cerebral palsy (CP), but the functional gains are relatively small, suggesting a need to improve current paradigms. The understanding of the kinematic and EMG responses to forces applied to the body of subjects during treadmill walking is crucial for improving current paradigms. The objective of this study was to determine the kinematics and EMG responses to the pelvis and/or leg assistance force. Ten children with spastic CP were recruited to participate in this study. A controlled assistance force was applied to the pelvis and/or legs during stance and swing phase of gait through a custom designed robotic system during walking. Muscle activities and spatial-temporal gait parameters were measured at different loading conditions during walking. In addition, the spatial-temporal gait parameters during overground walking before and after treadmill training were also collected. Applying pelvis assistance improved step height and applying leg assistance improved step length during walking, but applying leg assistance also reduced muscle activation of ankle flexor during the swing phase of gait. In addition, step length and self-selected walking speed significantly improved after one session of treadmill training with combined pelvis and leg assistance.

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