Objective: Children with cerebral palsy often exhibit limitations in gross motor function, balance, and gait due to neuromuscular impairments.This study aimed to investigate the effects of virtual reality-based treadmill training while wearing a therasuit on gross motor function, balance, and gait in children with cerebral palsy.Design: A randomized controlled trial.Methods: Eighteen children with cerebral palsy were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n9) or a control group (n9).The experimental group performed virtual reality-based treadmill training while wearing a therasuit, whereas the control group performed virtual reality-based treadmill training only.Both groups trained for 35 minutes per session, three times per week for four weeks.Gross motor function was assessed using the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), balance was evaluated using the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS), and gait was assessed using the 10-Meter Walk Test (10MWT) and the 2-Minute Walk Test (2MWT).Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements in GMFM dimensions D and E, PBS scores, and 10MWT performance (p0.05).The control group demonstrated significant improvements in GMFM dimension E, PBS scores, 10MWT, and 2MWT performance (p0.05).Additionally, the experimental group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group in GMFM dimension D and PBS scores (p0.05).Conclusions: Virtual reality-based treadmill training while wearing a therasuit was effective in improving gross motor function and balance in children with cerebral palsy.These findings suggest that this intervention may be an effective rehabilitation strategy for improving motor function and balance in children with cerebral palsy.
Kim et al. (Mon,) studied this question.