The effect of treadmill exercise on gait efficiency during overground walking in adults with cerebral palsy.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of treadmill walking exercise as a treatment method to improve gait efficiency in adults with cerebral palsy (CP) and to determine gait efficiency during overground walking after the treadmill walking exercise.


METHODS
Fourteen adults with CP were recruited in the experimental group of treadmill walking exercise. A control group of 7 adults with CP who attended conventional physical therapy were also recruited. The treadmill walking exercise protocol consisted of 3-5 training sessions per week for 1-2 months (total 20 sessions). Gait distance, velocity, VO2, VCO2, O2 rate (mL/kg·min), and O2 cost (mL/kg·m) were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the treadmill walking exercise. The parameters were measured by KB1-C oximeter.


RESULTS
After the treadmill walking exercise, gait distance during overground walking up to 6 minutes significantly increased from 151.29±91.79 to 193.93±79.01 m, and gait velocity increased from 28.09±14.29 to 33.49±12.69 m/min (p<0.05). Energy efficiency evaluated by O2 cost during overground walking significantly improved from 0.56±0.36 to 0.41±0.18 mL/kg·m (p<0.05), whereas O2 rate did not improve significantly after the treadmill walking exercise. On the other hand, gait velocity and O2 cost during overground walking were not significantly changed in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
Treadmill walking exercise improved the gait efficiency by decreased energy expenditure during overground walking in adults with CP. Therefore, treadmill walking exercise can be an important method for gait training in adults with CP who have higher energy expenditure.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
On-Yoo
OY
Kim
Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Yoon-Kyum
YK
Shin
Graduate School of Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Young Kwon
YK
Yoon
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Eu Jeong
EJ
Ko
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ; Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ; Avison Biomedical Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ; Rehabilitation Institute of Neuromuscular Disease, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Sung-Rae
SR
Cho
Cerebral palsy; Efficiency; Exercise; Gait; Walking