Body Weight Support Treadmill Training (BWSTT) v. Overground Training for Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP)

2012

Wayne Stuberg
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402-559-5720

Cerebral Palsy is a non-progressive neurological disorder that affects 2 per 1,000 births in the United States. Their gait is often characterized by slow velocity and short stride lengths, which leads to activity and participation limitations. BWSTT has shown to be effective in improving gait parameters in adult neurological patients, which has encouraged research for effectiveness in children with CP. The purpose of this paper was to determine if BWSTT is more effective in improving gait speed and endurance when compared to conventional therapy. A literature search was performed using Medline via PubMed and PEDro; two of the three studies showed that inclusion of BWSTT leads to a positive trend on increasing gait speed and endurance compared to control groups. Results from this review show BWSTT is similar but not superior to conventional therapy. Future research should target defining a protocol for BWSTT to be used with children with CP.

Conference presentations and posters presented

Professionals, Policymakers, Students

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