Improvement of walking abilities after robotic-assisted locomotion training in children with cerebral palsy.

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.