The effect of vibration-hinged ankle foot orthoses on gait and spasticity in children with cerebral palsy: A randomized clinical trial design.

Background: Hinged ankle foot orthoses (HAFO) are commonly prescribed for children with cerebral palsy (CP) to improve their ambulatory function.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of vibration-HAFO with that of the same orthosis without vibration on gait, function, and spasticity in hemiplegic CP children.

Study design: Randomized Control Trial Design (a pilot study).

Methods: Twenty-three children with hemiplegic CP participated in this study. The control group (n = 12) used HAFO, and the intervention group (n = 11) used vibration-HAFO for four weeks. Pre-post three-dimensional gait analysis was done. Calf muscle spasticity and function were also measured.

Results: Results showed significant differences between the two groups in the one-minute walking test (p = 0.023) and spasticity (after intervention [p = 0.022], after follow-up [p = 0.020]). Also, significant differences were detected between the two groups in the step width (p = 0.042), maximum hip abduction (p = 0.008), stance maximum dorsiflexion (p = 0.036) and mean pelvic tilt (p = 0.004) in the barefoot condition. Gait cycle time (p = 0.005), maximum hip abduction (p = 0.042), and cadence (p = 0.001) were different between groups in the braced condition. We couldn't find any significant within and between groups differences in knee kinematic parameters. The mean time of using vibration was 16.83 minutes per day.

Conclusions: The vibration-hinged AFO is feasible, safe, and acceptable for children with hemiplegic CP to be integrated into practice. Temporospatial and clinical parameters, especially spasticity, were improved. There were slight trends toward improvement in pelvic and knee kinematics. Vibration-HAFO is of benefit to ambulatory CP children with mild and moderate spasticity. It improved the walking capacity of the children.