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Quantitative Evaluation of the Effects of Ankle Foot Orthosis on Gait in Children with Cerebral Palsy Using the Gait Profile Score and Gait Variable Scores

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Abstract

Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are often used in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) to facilitate and optimise their impaired gait pattern. The aim of this study was to assess quantitatively the effects of AFOs on gait in CP using a summary measure obtained by Gait Analysis (GA): the Gait Profile Score (GPS) with its Gait Variable Scores (GVSs).

A total of 21 children with CP (hemiplegic group: 11 children; diplegic group: 10 children) were evaluated barefoot and wearing AFOs using GA; GPS with its GVSs were calculated from GA data. The results evidenced that in diplegic children significant improvements when wearing AFOs were observed at pelvic tilt and ankle dorsi-plantarflexion GVS values; no changes were found as for GPS. The plegic side of hemiplegic children improved significantly globally with AFO, as displayed by the reduction of GPS value; in addition, some reductions were observed in terms of pelvic rotation and obliquity, knee flex-extension and ankle dorsi-plantarflexion GVSs. Significant changes appeared at some GVS values of the non-plegic side, too.

Our results showed that, compared with barefoot gait, AFOs enhanced gait strategy in diplegic and hemiplegic children with CP. While GPS, together with GVSs, seems to be a useful method for evaluating immediate effects of AFOs in hemiplegia, in diplegia the improvements are evident only in some GVSs (pelvic tilt and ankle dorsi-plantarflexion) but not in GPS.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Eng. Laura Passoni, Eng. Laura Pescatori and Eng. Eugenio Di Stanislao for their valuable contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, 20133, Milano, Italy

    Manuela Galli, Veronica Cimolin & Chiara Rigoldi

  2. IRCCS “San Raffaele Pisana”, Tosinvest Sanità, Roma, Italy

    Manuela Galli & Giorgio Albertini

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  1. Manuela Galli
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  2. Veronica Cimolin
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  3. Chiara Rigoldi
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  4. Giorgio Albertini
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Correspondence to Veronica Cimolin.

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Galli, M., Cimolin, V., Rigoldi, C. et al. Quantitative Evaluation of the Effects of Ankle Foot Orthosis on Gait in Children with Cerebral Palsy Using the Gait Profile Score and Gait Variable Scores. J Dev Phys Disabil 28, 367–379 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9472-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9472-6

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