RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Improvement of walking abilities after robotic-assisted locomotion training in children with cerebral palsy
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 615
OP 620
DO 10.1136/adc.2008.145458
VO 94
IS 8
A1 A Meyer-Heim
A1 C Ammann-Reiffer
A1 A Schmartz
A1 J Schäfer
A1 F H Sennhauser
A1 F Heinen
A1 B Knecht
A1 E Dabrowski
A1 I Borggraefe
YR 2009
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/94/8/615.abstract
AB Objective: To measure functional gait improvements of robotic-assisted locomotion training in children with cerebral palsy (CP).Design: Single-case experimental A-B design.Settings: Rehabilitation Centre Affoltern am Albis, Children’s University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland (inpatient group) and Neurology Department of the Dr von Haunersches Children’s Hospital Munich, Germany (outpatient group).Participants: 22 children (mean age 8.6 years, range 4.6–11.7) with CP and a Gross Motor Function Classification System level II to IV.Interventions: 3 to 5 sessions of 45–60 minutes/week during a 3–5-week period of driven gait orthosis training.Main outcome measures: 10-metre walk test (10MWT), 6-minute walk test (6MinWT), Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) dimension D (standing) and dimension E (walking), and Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC).Results: The mean (SD) maximum gait speed (0.78 (0.57) to 0.91 (0.61) m/s; p<0.01) as well as the mean (SD) dimension D of the GMFM-66 (40.3% (31.3%) to 46.6% (28.7%); p<0.05) improved significantly after the intervention period. The mean (SD) 6MinWT (176.3 (141.8) to 199.5 (157.7) m), the mean FAC (2.6 (1.7) to 3.0 (1.6)) and the mean (SD) dimension E of the GMFM-66 (29.5% (30.3%) to 31.6% (29.2%)) also showed an increase, but did not reach a statistically significant level.Conclusion: These results suggest that children with CP benefit from robotic-assisted gait training in improving functional gait parameters.