ON GAIT CHARACTERISTICS IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN WITH SPASTIC CEREBRAL PALSY

Diff erent kinds of physical therapy are used in medical rehabilitation of neuro-logical patients with motor defi ciency: partial body weight-supported treadmill training, driven gait orthosis, neuromuscular electrical stimulation and neuro-orthopaedic suit therapies. Neuro-orthopaedic pneumosuit (NOPS) Atlant (Dynaforce, Russia) creates a muscle framework by dynamic proprioceptive stimulation, stabilizing the trunk and the extremities, reducing pathological synergies and normalizing patient’s motor activity. Th e aim of the present study was to investigate the infl uence of 3-month therapy using the NOPS Atlant on gait characteristics in preschool children with spastic form of cerebral palsy (CP). Six CP children with spasticity of lower extremities with (mean±SE) age of 5.2±0.8 years participated in the present study. Children had NOPS Atlant therapy sessions during three months, supervised by an experienced physiotherapist. Th e kinematic and kinetic characteristics of gait were measured using 3-D movement analysis system Elite Clinic (BTS S.p.A., Italy). Aft e