Efficacy of the “Smart Dynamic Body-Weight Support System” in the Functional ‎ Performance of Children with Cerebral Palsy‏ ‏and other Neurological Disorders

Gait is one of the most basic necessities of a child's daily life. Elimination of gait from child’s life leads to various complications. Therefore, in the process of rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy, gait phase is always of special importance. Today, with the advancement of existing technologies in the field of rehabilitation, the use of new equipments based on modern science to accelerate the process of walking will be very necessary. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of smart dynamic body-weight support system on functional performance and gait improvement in children with cerebral palsy or other neurological diseases.

Eleven children with cerebral palsy, motor delay, and other genetic or acquired neurological diseases were recruited for this study. Before starting an intervention, functional tests consisted of five-repetition sit-to-stand tests, Timed Up and Go Test, Lateral Step Up Test and Berg Balance Scale were taken from participants. The functional tests were taken from the participants at the end of the tenth and twentieth sessions. Training sessions were 20 which consisted of 10 general exercises sessions at first and 10 advanced exercises sessions at the end. The duration of each training session was 20 minutes. Exercises were carried out by smart dynamic body-weight support system. The data were analyzed via Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and Marginal Homogeneity test by SPSS software in 0.1 p-value.

The results showed that the significant difference in Berg Balance Scale exists between first and third assessments (P=0.003, m=12.364), first and second (P=0.003, m=8.636) and also second and third (P=0.028, m=3.727). In 5×SS and TUDS tests the significant difference exists between first and third assessments and first and second times but in TUG test the only significant difference is between first and third times.

The results of study showed that the exercises which were carried out by smart dynamic body-weight support system have led to improvement in functional performance and gait in children.