Clinical Research Directory
Browse clinical research sites, groups, and studies.
The Effect of Perturbation Training on Reactive Balance in Children With Cerebral Palsy
Sponsor: Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven
Summary
The aim of this project was to evaluate whether perturbation training influences reflex modulation in children with spastic CP and whether changed reflex modulation leads to improved reactive balance and walking. Reactive balance was trained using rotational perturbations. Reactive balance performance and reactive muscle activity during trained and untrained perturbation conditions were assessed in children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children.
Official title: The Effect of Perturbation Training on Reflex Modulation, Reactive Balance and Walking in Children With Spastic Cerebral Palsy.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
5 Years - 17 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
24
Start Date
2021-07-26
Completion Date
2025-08-29
Last Updated
2026-09-14
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Interventions
Balance training on a moving platform
The training intervention consisted of nine sessions (spread over 3 weeks), which took about 30 minutes each. The first and last session immediately followed and preceded respectively the pre- and post-intervention assessments. During one session, three identical blocks of 32 toe-up rotational perturbations were administered. Each block consisted of perturbations with two different difficulty levels (16 trials each). The administered perturbation levels were selected based on the participant's performance in the previous training session (for training sessions two to nine) and pre-intervention assessment (for the first training session). If the participant was able to maintain balance without stepping in at least 80% of the trials, a more difficult level was offered in the next training. When the participant was able to perform all levels, the training was continued by combining both lower and higher levels, in order to train the complete range of perturbation levels.
Locations (1)
UZ Leuven
Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium