Efficacy of Cold Therapy and Passive Stretching to Improve Gait in Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy Children

Background One of the most common causes of severe physical disability in childhood is cerebral palsy (CP). Mobility is one of the most important functions to fulfill the activities of daily living. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of cold application to improve the ambulation in spastic diplegic CP children. Materials and Methods In this clinical trial study, 40 subjects were included for the study. They were divided into two groups, namely experimental (n=20), and conventional group (n=20). Study was carried out in Holy Cross College, Department of Rehabilitation Science, Tiruchirappalli, India. Conventional group was given regular conventional training and experimental group was given cold therapy, passive stretching in both legs before training. Both groups received training for 45 minutes, 3 times a week for a duration of 6 weeks. Modified Ashworth scales were used to measure spasticity step length, stride length and Cadences were used to measure the gait parameters, and Timed Up and Go test (TUG) was used to measure the functional activity. Results Significant effect was observed in decrease in spasticity, there was increase in gait parameters and timed up and go test in two studied groups. The post-test mean values of all the variables of cold therapy, passive stretching in experimental group are improved compared with that of conventional group. The experiment improved with stride length, step length, cadence, timed up and go test and Modified Ashworth scale (p<0.05). Conclusion Based on the derived results, there was decreased tone in spastic muscles and improvement in gait parameters and functional ability in children with diplegic CP after application of cold therapy and passive stretching.