Effect of Postural Stability Exercises on Gait Parameters in Children with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy: An Experimental Trial

Postural stability helps maintain the position of the body within the support area to maintain control, but this postural stability is affected in children with cerebral palsy during static or dynamic activities. However, the practical application of postural stability exercises combined with muscle strengthening has not been studied in spastic diplegia cerebral palsy children with gait difficulties. Purpose: To study the effect of postural stability exercises on the gait and posture of children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. Materials & Methods. 23 subjects with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy within the age group of 8 to 15 years, both male and female were randomly allocated into two groups Group A (Experimental) n=12 and Group B (Control) n=11, voluntarily participated and EVGS and DGI were used to assess the posture, gait, and functional capacity as outcome measures. Pre-test and post-test values were used for the interpretation of data. Results: The mean difference of 3.25 with a t-value of 8.74 at a significance of 0.000 (p<0.005) was calculated which shows a statistically significant difference between the pre and post-values of Group A and the mean difference of 1.63 with a t-value of 8.05 at a significance of 0.000 was calculated, which is statistically significant. Conclusion: Combined effect of postural stability exercises along with muscle strengthening exercises have a significant effect on the gait functions in children with spastic diplegia CP of GMFCS level II and III.