title: The relation between standing balance and walking function in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.
abstract: To establish and compare the relationship between standing balance and walking performance, eight children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (CP) and 16 non-disabled, age- and sex-matched children were studied. The results showed that the children with CP had worse static balance stability in various sensory environments and dynamic balance (rhythmic shifting ability) than the non-disabled children. Moreover, the children with CP walked at a slower speed but at a greater physiological cost than the non-disabled children. In the children with CP, dynamic balance significantly correlated with walking function. It is suggested that rhythmic weight-shift training should be encouraged to improve the walking performance of children with CP.
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Republic of China.
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Jeng
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*