Article

This case report describes the use of treadmill training without body weight
support to improve walking speed in a child with diplegic cerebral palsy. The
child was a six-year-old girl with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. She walked
short distances independently using a posterior support walker but was unable to
keep up with her peers walking long distances. Speed of walking 50 feet and speed
of walking from her classroom to the cafeteria (458 feet) were timed
pretreadmill, posttreadmill, and 3 weeks following treadmill intervention. The
GMFM-88 was administered pre- and posttreadmill intervention. Following treadmill
intervention, the child's speed of walking increased and she was able to walk to
the cafeteria daily with her peers. Improvements in the percent of maximum total
score of the GMFM-88 were also observed. The outcomes of this case suggest that
the use of short-term, task-specific treadmill intervention might increase a
child's walking speed enough to increase their participation in the school
setting.

Langue : ANGLAIS