Children's Health
Aggressive Therapy Helps Kids Make Big Strides
By
Feb 1, 2010 - 10:59:05 AM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - COLUMBUS, Ohio - An aggressive, new approach to physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy is helping them walk further and faster on their own, according to new research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In a recent study conducted here, nine out of 10 kids who went through an intense, eight-week therapy program using a specialized harness device walked father and faster without assistance** after completing the program, giving them not only more confidence but more independence as well.

On average a child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy every hour of every day in this country.* It’s a disease that can affect everything from a child’s vision to their ability to walk. Because their muscles can be extremely tight and spastic, kids with cerebral palsy often dread physical therapy because it can be hard and painful. Therapists at Nationwide Children’s Hospital use a device called LiteGait, which has straps and a harness to lighten the weight-bearing load and make therapy far less painful for kids.

“This device helps children with cerebral palsy who may not be able to fully bear weight and walk by themselves to practice walking and build up some strength necessary for walking skills,” says Amy Newmeyer, MD, who leads the cerebral palsy program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “They can start at a really low level of support and practice that stepping motion.”

Dr. Newmeyer says this device helps a child’s legs to develop muscle memory, which allows them to walk more naturally without the device and have more stamina when they do. But the real difference comes with an aggressive schedule. Researchers here have found the more often the kids are in therapy, the better they walk when they leave.

“Traditional therapy models are often once a week, and with the treadmill training program, the children will come several times a week for training and for strengthening exercises,” says Dr. Newmeyer.

The aggressive approach has helped kids like Joshua Williams of Columbus more than double his speed and intensity after only two months of therapy. When Josh started the program he could only walk 20 minutes at a time at about .5 mph. Now he can walk for more than 50 minutes at speeds ranging from 1-1.4 mph, something that’s making life a lot easier not only for him, but for his family, too.

“He’s much more independent now than he was, even six months ago,” says Joshua’s mother JoAnna. “He can get on and off bicycles more independently at home and he’s less likely to ask for help.”

Doctors say this approach to therapy not only works well for kids who are motivated and have some ability to walk but could also work for those who have had a stroke or a brain or spinal cord injury.

Sources:
*Cerebral Palsy Facts and Figures, United Cerebral Palsy, retrieved from: http://www.ucp.org/ucp_generaldoc.cfm/1/9/37/37-37/447

**Evaluation of the 8-week intensive therapy protocol, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. Retrieved from interviews, January 2010.

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