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AmJCaseRep

Evidence of the effect of treadmill training on children with cerebral palsy: A systematic review

Luanda André Collange Grecco, Hugo Pasini, Luciana Maria Malosá Sampaio, Claudia Santos Oliveira

Med Sci Tech 2012; 53(2): RP95-100

ID: 883582

Available online:

Published: 2012-11-19


In recent years, gait training on a treadmill has been used in the treatment of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Objectives: To explore the effect of treadmill training with and without body weight support (BWS) on CP.
        Data sources were MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane databases, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), LILACS and SciELO. The following were the inclusion criteria: 1) controlled clinical trial; 2) children with CP; 3) treadmill training; 4) control group; and 5) outcome of improved motor function and walking. Study appraisal of the PEDro scale was used to assess quality.
        Three controlled studies on treadmill training were found, 2 of which were randomized. The quality of the study methods received a score of 6 on the PEDro scale. The experimental group exhibited improved gross motor function. However, discrepant results were found regarding improvements in walking speed.
        Further research is needed to determine the effect of treadmill training without BWS and to separately analyze children with functional gait (GMFCS I–III) and severe with restricted mobility (GMFCS IV).
        Given the limited number of studies and variability in the protocols, it was not possible to identify conclusive data on this training modality.

Keywords: Rehabilitation, Child, Gait, Cerebral Palsy



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