title: Technical devices in children with motor disabilities: a review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effectiveness of technical devices used in children with motor disabilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search of CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, PEDro, Cochrane Library, Isi Web of Knowledge and Scifinder Web was carried out, covering the period between January 2000 and January 2012. The inclusion criteria were: (1) Studies involving a minimum of five children (randomized-clinical trials with control group and experimental group, clinical trials without control group and prospective cohort studies; (2) age range, 0 to 18 years. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed by the two authors through the application of the PEDro scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 59 articles identified by the search strategy, 27 articles were considered eligible. The most frequently evaluated devices were ankle and foot orthoses and the most studied pathology was cerebral palsy. The mean score on the PEDro scale was 6.8.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The methodological quality of studies needs to be improved and more rigorous research designs should be followed that will allow the effectiveness and quality of movement to be assessed. The satisfaction of the patient and family with the devices should be analyzed in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Research Group in Physiotherapy and Health Promotion, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", Murcia University , Espinardo-Murcia, Murcia , Spain.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gómez-Conesa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009983:Orthopedic Equipment; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D012107:Research Design; D012656:Self-Help Devices