Rhythmic cueing effects on gait parameters of children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy : an immediate entrainment study

Abstract

This study was designed to examine whether children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy can synchronize (entrain) their gait patterns with an external auditory rhythmic stimulus, and whether this rhythmic stimulus would encourage improvement in stride symmetry and knee extension at foot contact during the gait cycle. Five participants completed an immediate entrainment protocol that included a self-selected normal speed walk (SS), a self-selected normal speed walk matched with music of the same cadence (SSM), a fast walk (F), and a fast walk matched with music of the same cadence (FM). Results indicated that the participants synchronized their gait patterns with the rhythmic music stimulus, but no significant results were observed for stride symmetry or knee extension measures between no-music and music conditions. The ability to entrain to a rhythmic stimulus suggests that gait training facilitated by rhythmic cueing may be an appropriate gait habilitation technique for this population, but that research with a larger number of participants is necessary before definite conclusions in this area can be drawn.