Effects of repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training on vasti and hamstring muscle activity and gait performance in children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Background/aims Both upper and lower limbs interact through neural coupling. Such interconnection leads to rhythmic interlimb coordination, which affects the central pattern generator for the lower limbs. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training on muscle activity and gait parameters in children with cerebral palsy. Methods A total of 9 children with cerebral palsy were recruited for 20 sessions of repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training. They were tested before and after completion of this training using surface electromyography, spatiotemporal gait parameters assessments and clinical tests. A paired t-test was used to investigate differences in participants' vasti and hamstring activity, spatiotemporal gait parameters, and clinical test results before and after the training. Results Participants' vasti muscle activity increased significantly after the repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training, but there was no significant change in their hamstring muscles. However, spatiotemporal gait parameters and clinical motor function improved significantly. Conclusions Repetitive intensive arm swing indirect gait training may be suitable as an effective exercise in gait training programmes for children with cerebral palsy.