Cerebral Palsy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cerebral Palsy, including details on symptoms, causes, types.

Compliance with walking aid use in children with cerebral palsy in India.

Raja K

Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal, India.

A 3-mo prospective descriptive study of 50 Indian ambulant children with cerebral palsy using different types of walkers or elbow crutches was done to determine compliance with use of the prescribed device. Children were between 6 and 16 yrs of age and of either sex. Data were collected by means of proxy log entries made by the child's caregivers throughout the day. The data collected consisted of the number of times and the distance the child walked each time with or without the prescribed walking aid. Compliance was taken as the number of times the child used the walking aid during ambulation. Overall mean compliance was 49.1%. Children using the reciprocal walker showed the greatest compliance (60.2%), whereas those using elbow crutches (34.9%) and walkers with gutter attachments (14.8%) showed the least. Compliance was greatest for distances of 50-100 m (57.5%), whereas it was the least for distances of >150 m (25.9%).

Published 25 July 2006 in Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 85(8): 694-8.
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