Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, Collage of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Physical Therapy for Pediatrics, Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
NeuroRehabilitation. 2021;49(1):139-149. doi: 10.3233/NRE-210063.
Children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) experience an asymmetrical gait pattern and poor balance capabilities. Effective interventions, therefore, are needed to facilitate remediation of these functional issues.
This study was set out to investigate the emerging role of stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) exercises on gait-symmetry and balance in children with UCP.
In this randomized controlled trial, 42 children with UCP (age; 8 -12 years) were enrolled and received either standard physical rehabilitation (control group; n = 21) or the SSC exercise program plus physical rehabilitation (SSC group; n = 21). Spatial- and temporal-gait symmetry index (GSI) and specific balance capabilities [reactive balance, directional control, movement synchronization, and sensory organization] were assessed before and after 16 sessions that were carried out twice/week over non-sequential days in an 8-week program.
Using the pre-treatment scores as covariates, the post-treatment spatial- (P = 0.006; ηp2= 0.17) and temporal- GSI (P < .001; ηp2= 0.46) scores reduced significantly in the SSC group as compared to the control group, suggesting favorable improvement of gait symmetry. Also, all measures of balance (P < 0.05; ηp2 ranged between 0.10 and 0.29) improved remarkably, post-treatment, in SSC group in comparison with the control group.
The evidence from this study suggests that SSC exercises besides standard physical rehabilitation appear to be effective for improving gait symmetry and boosting balance capabilities in children with UCP.
患有单侧脑瘫（UCP）的儿童会出现不对称的步态模式和较差的平衡能力。因此，需要有效的干预措施来促进这些功能问题的康复。
本研究旨在探讨伸展-缩短循环（SSC）运动在 UCP 儿童步态对称性和平衡能力方面的新作用。
在这项随机对照试验中，共纳入 42 名 UCP 儿童（年龄 8-12 岁），他们被分为接受标准物理康复（对照组；n=21）或 SSC 运动方案加物理康复（SSC 组；n=21）。在 8 周的方案中，每周非连续进行两次、每次 16 个疗程的治疗前和治疗后，评估空间和时间步态对称性指数（GSI）以及特定的平衡能力[反应性平衡、方向控制、运动同步性和感觉组织]。
使用预处理分数作为协变量，与对照组相比，SSC 组的空间（P=0.006；ηp2=0.17）和时间 GSI（P<0.001；ηp2=0.46）评分在治疗后显著降低，提示步态对称性有明显改善。此外，与对照组相比，SSC 组在治疗后所有平衡测量指标（P<0.05；ηp2 值在 0.10 至 0.29 之间）均显著提高。
本研究的证据表明，除了标准物理康复外，SSC 运动似乎对改善 UCP 儿童的步态对称性和提高平衡能力有效。
