Slackline Training in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Lucía González, Juan Argüelles, Vicente González, Kristian Winge, Marta Iscar, Hugo Olmedillas, Miguel Blanco, Pedro L. Valenzuela, Alejandro Lucia, Peter A. Federolf and Luis Santos
Additional contact information
Lucía González: Spanish Confederation of People with Physical and Organic Disability (COCEMFE), 33204 Asturias, Spain
Juan Argüelles: Department of Functional Biology, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain
Vicente González: Medical Service of the Community of Cabo Peñas, 33440 Asturias, Spain
Kristian Winge: Novo Nordisk Foundation, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark
Marta Iscar: University Central Hospital of Asturias (HUCA), 33011 Asturias, Spain
Hugo Olmedillas: Department of Functional Biology, University of Oviedo, 33006 Oviedo, Spain
Miguel Blanco: Catholic University of Valencia, 46001 Valencia, Spain
Pedro L. Valenzuela: Department of Systems Biology, University of Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Alejandro Lucia: European University of Madrid (Faculty of Sport Sciences) and Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre (‘i+12’), 28041 Madrid, Spain
Peter A. Federolf: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Luis Santos: Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of León, 24007 León, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-10

Abstract: Objective: To assess whether a slackline intervention program improves postural control in children/adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Patients’ association. Participants: Twenty-seven children/adolescents with spastic CP (9–16 years) were randomly assigned to a slackline intervention ( n = 14, 13 ± 3 years) or control group ( n = 13, 12 ± 2 years). Intervention: Three slackline sessions per week (30 min/session) for 6 weeks. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was static posturography (center of pressure—CoP—parameters). The secondary outcomes were surface myoelectrical activity of the lower-limb muscles during the posturography test and jump performance (countermovement jump test and Abalakov test). Overall (RPE, >6–20 scale) rating of perceived exertion was recorded at the end of each intervention session. Results: The intervention was perceived as “very light” (RPE = 7.6 ± 0.6). The intervention yielded significant benefits on static posturography (a significant group by time interaction on Xspeed, p = 0.006) and jump performance (a significant group by time interaction on Abalakov test, p = 0.015). Conclusions: Slackline training improved static postural control and motor skills and was perceived as non-fatiguing in children/adolescents with spastic CP.

Keywords: neuro-disability; motor disorders; rehabilitation; exercise; non-conventional balance therapy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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