title: Biofeedback interventions for people with cerebral palsy: a systematic review protocol.
abstract: Cerebral palsy is a life-long disability that affects motor control and activities of daily living. Depending on the type of cerebral palsy, some individuals may have trouble performing tasks with one or both of their arms and/or legs. Different strategies exist to help develop motor capacity. Biofeedback therapy is a commonly applied rehabilitation strategy. In biofeedback therapy, information about the motor behavior while completing a task is given back to the individual to help improve their performance. This can provide valuable information that would otherwise be unknown to the individual. Biofeedback may also have a unique method of operation in clinical populations, such as people with cerebral palsy. Therefore, it is important to identify the most effective mechanisms for specific populations. This review aims to evaluate the effects of biofeedback interventions that have been used towards improving motor performance and motor learning in people with cerebral palsy.
  
  
  
  Using a customized strategy, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, SCOPUS, SPORTDiscus, and PEDro databases will be searched. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts, review full texts for inclusion criteria, and extract data from relevant articles using a standardized template. Quality of evidence and risk of bias will be assessed through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology.
  
  
  
  Several studies have investigated biofeedback-based interventions for people with cerebral palsy. However, there is a great variety and limited consensus regarding how to implement biofeedback mechanisms. This systematic review will consolidate the current evidence to direct future study and develop effective biofeedback rehabilitation strategies.
  
  
  
  PROSPERO ID: CRD42016047612.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. alexander.macintosh@mail.utoronto.ca.|Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, 150 Kilgour Road, Toronto, ON, M4G 1R8, Canada. alexander.macintosh@mail.utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5094-3774
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: MacIntosh
authors.affiliation: CIAMS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Saint-Aubin, Orsay Cedex, France.|CIAMS, Université d'Orléans, 45067, Orléans, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vignais
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, 150 Kilgour Road, Toronto, ON, M4G 1R8, Canada.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Biddiss
mesh_terms: D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology / Q000379:methods*; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000078202:Systematic Reviews as Topic
keywords: Audio feedback; Cues; Haptic feedback; Hemiplegia; Motor rehabilitation; Neurofeedback; Sensory feedback; Spastic diplegia; Visual feedback