Biofeedback therapy to achieve symmetrical gait in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy: long-term efficacy.

The hypothesis investigated in this study was that the symmetry of gait achieved with biofeedback therapy was maintained at follow-up, which ranged from 18 to 24 months later. The approach adopted was to measure average heel force on the hemiparetic side and to measure the temporal asymmetries in gait from video recordings. It was found that most of the therapy gains had been lost since treatment ended. It was concluded that the improvements acquired during biofeedback therapy are not maintained over time without maintenance strategies, and are liable to be situation-specific.