Effect of Treadmill Training With Eyes Open and Closed on Knee Proprioception, Functional Balance and Mobility in Children With Spastic Diplegia

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of treadmill training with eyes open (TEO) and closed (TEC) on the knee joint position sense (JPS), functional balance and mobility in children with spastic diplegia. METHODS: Forty-five children with spastic diplegia aged 11–13 years participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to three groups of equal number. The control group (CON) underwent designed physical therapy program whereas, the study groups (TEO and TEC) underwent the same program, in addition to treadmill gait training with eyes open and closed, respectively. Outcome measures were the degree of knee joint position error, functional balance and mobility. Measurements were taken before and after 12 weeks of intervention. RESULTS: After training, the three groups showed statistically significant improvement in all measured outcomes, compared to the baseline with non-significant change in the knee JPS in the CON group. When comparing posttreatment results, the TEC group showed greater significant improvement in all measured outcomes, than the TEO and CON groups. CONCLUSION: Treadmill training with eyes open and closed is effective in rehabilitation of children with diplegia, but blocked vision treadmill training has more beneficial effect.

Effectiveness of Intra-anal Biofeedback and Electrical Stimulation in the Treatment of Children With Refractory Monosymptomatic Nocturnal Enuresis: A Comparative Randomized Controlled Trial / 대한배뇨장애요실금학회지

PURPOSE: To compare the effects of intra-anal biofeedback (BF) and intra-anal electrical stimulation (ES) on pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) activity, nocturnal bladder capacity, and frequency of wet night episodes in children with refractory primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE). METHODS: Ninety children of both sexes aged 8–12 years with refractory PMNE participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to 3 groups of equal number: control group (CON) that underwent behavioral therapy and PFM training, and 2 study groups (BF and ES) that underwent the same program in addition to intra-anal BF training and intra-anal ES, respectively. PFMs activity was assessed using electromyography, nocturnal bladder capacity was evaluated by measuring the first morning voided volume, and a nocturnal enuresis diary was used for documenting wet night episodes before treatment and after 3 months of treatment. RESULTS: After training, all groups showed statistically significant improvements in all measured outcomes compared to their pretreatment findings. The ES group showed significantly greater improvements in all measured outcomes than the CON and BF groups. CONCLUSIONS: Both intra-anal BF training and ES combined with behavioral therapy and PFMs training were effective in the treatment of PMNE, with intra-anal ES being superior to BF training.