Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of neuromotor diseases that develops as a result of
damage to the developing central nervous system during the perinatal period. The condition
is usually accompanied by musculoskeletal problems resulting in movement disorders.
Gait improvement therefore, is an important part of its treatment. Roboticassisted
gait training (RAGT) is a new potential rehabilitation tool for CP patients, however
there is no clear evidence for the effectiveness of this method.Can robotic-assisted
gait training improve walking function in children with CP?A systematic search was
performed in five databases: MEDLINE (via PubMed), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled
Trials (CENTRAL), Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. Eligible studies were randomized
controlled trials (RCT) with CP patients under the age of 18. Gross motor function
and kinematic gait parameters of patients were the main outcomes. Two authors determined
the risk of bias of the RCTs independently using the revised Risk of Bias 2 (ROB 2)
tool. Mean Differences (MDs) along with their 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were calculated
when at least three studies were present for an outcome, subgroup analysis was performed
based on the treatment of the control group.Of the 7363 screened articles, 13 papers
met our inclusion criteria and among them, 7 studies could be used in our meta-analyses.
The results related to RAGT suggest nonsignificant improvement in standing and walking
function (Gross Motor Function Measure D, E), moreover changes in gait speed, step
length, and in cadence were also only comparable to controls.The results indicate
that there is a trend in some gait parameters where the improvement was higher in
the intervention group than in control group. The therapeutic effect of RAGT was probably
not superior to physiotherapy combined with treadmill training.
