الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Background: Children with spastic diplegia commonly have balance problems which affect their motor functions and quality of life. Purpose of the study: To determine the effect of ground reaction ankle-foot orthosis (GRAFO) on balance control in children with spastic diplegiccerebral palsy (CP).Methods: Thirty children with spastic diplegia, their ages ranged from eight to twelve years participated in this study.They were assigned into two groups of equal number.The control group (A) received selected physical therapy program whereas the study group (B) received the same program while wearing bilateral GRAFOSfor three successive months. Static and dynamic balance were assessed before and after the treatment program using Biodex Balance System and Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS).Results:The results revealed no significant difference when comparing the pretreatment values of the two groups (A&B). While statisical significant improvement was observed in all measuring variables (stability index and PBS) of the two groups when comparing their pre and post treatment mean values.Significant difference was also observed when comparing the post treatment results of the two groups in favor of the study group (B) R> 0.05.Conclusion: from the obtained results of this study, GRAFO can be used with physical therapy to improve balance control in children with spastic diplegic CP |