A Systematic Review on the Physical Rehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy: Focusing on Domestic Literature

Abstract

Purpose: This paper sought to classify, analyze, and investigate domestic research papers on the physical rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy, and to suggest a direction for rehabilitation after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A literature search was conducted from June 1 to June 30, 2022, and only papers published in domestic journals during the past 10 years were searched. The main search term was "rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy", and "rehabilitation" such as "exercise rehabilitation," "equestrian rehabilitation", and "aquatic rehabilitation" were reviewed when they appeared in the titles and abstracts. A total of 18 books were selected according to the exclusion criteria. Results: Rehabilitation by area was divided into exercise rehabilitation, Bobath rehabilitation, equestrian rehabilitation, and aquatic rehabilitation. Analysis was undertaken based on the period of rehabilitation, area wise from 2012 to 2017, except for aquatic rehabilitation, which was studied once in 2020. The intervention effects of exercise rehabilitation were summarized as PICO (Participants, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome), and most of the studies showed improvements in the subject's physical functions. Conclusion:Research on the physical rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy is being conducted in multiple directions and through several methods. In addition to the Bobath and Vojta approaches, equestrian rehabilitation, aquatic rehabilitation using the buoyancy of water, and computer rehabilitation are conducted. For the physical rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy in the context of COV-ID-19, programs that are linked with families and those that incorporate Information Communications Technology (ICT) could be developed.