Therapeutic interventions efficacy on gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Objective: Verify therapeutic intervention efficacy in children between the ages of 0 to 12, with cerebral palsy, evaluated by Thick Motor Function Measure. Method: PUBMed (MEDLINE), Cohrane, Web of Science, Scopus, Lilacs and PEDro. During phase 1, titles and abstracts of all identified references were independently displayed to 2 investigators. In phase 2, the same researchers applied the inclusion criteria for complete articles text. Key data from each of the included studies were extracted, such as author, year of publication, sample size, relevant characteristics, and conclusions on therapeutic interventions in children with cerebral palsy. Results: 15 articles were combined for qualitative analysis. Total scores for methodological quality ranged from 5 to 9 points. Covering the included articles for qualitative analysis, 14 studies were included in meta-analysis. Results demonstrated a significant variation when compared to conventional therapy performed through physical therapy in total scores and subgroup training, but not in hippotherapy, activity tasks and other therapies. Conclusion: Commonly therapies applied to children with CP when integrated with functional tasks appear to have better results when only compared to conventional physiotherapy.