Application of Gait Index Assessment to Monitor the Treatment Progress in Patients with Cerebral Palsy

摘要

Athree-dimensional analysis ofmovement is more and more often applied to assess locomotive functions of patients with cerebral palsy (CP). For the past few years there has been a growing interest in gait index methods which enable the evaluation of the patient’s gait with the use of a single numerical value. This research aimed at the assessment of the gait of patients with CP at different stages of treatment on the basis of gait indices Gillette Gait Index (defined by Shutte) and Gait Deviation Index (definied by Schwartz and Rozumalski) as well as finding dependencies between the determined indices values. The studied group consisted of 56 healthy participants and 16 patients with cerebral palsy treated using botulinum toxin. On the grounds of the determined indexes, the improvement of gait was observed in the case of 75% of patients with CP. Statistically significant differences were found between GGI and GDI values obtained in the initial investigation and after 6 months following the administration of botulinum (PRE and POST). There was a strong linear dependence observed between the GDI and GGI* (GGI~? = ln(√GGI )) values. No significant dependence was observed between the percentage indices of improvement determined on the basis of the GGI and GDI results obtained (in the PRE and POST examination).