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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1443400
This article is part of the Research Topic Cognitive Strategies in motor learning and Rehabilitation View all 3 articles

Effect of Adapted Dance Program on Gait in Adults with Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study

Provisionally accepted
Hee Joung Joung Hee Joung Joung 1Moon Seok Park Moon Seok Park 2,3*Tae Hoon Kim Tae Hoon Kim 4*
  • 1 Sport Science Laboratory, Changwon National University, Changwon, South Gyeongsang, Republic of Korea
  • 2 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea
  • 3 College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 4 Department of Dance, Changwon National University, Changwon, South Gyeongsang, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The gait function in adults with cerebral palsy (CP) deteriorates rapidly with age. Dance has been used as an effective intervention to improve balance, postural control, and gait. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and effects of an adapted dance program (ADP) on the gait in adults with CP. The ADP, which consists of floor and barre workouts, was designed to be adapted for individuals with CP.Method: Ten female adults with spastic diplegic CP (mean age 52.3±6.34, Gross Motor Function Classification System level Ⅱ) participated in this study. Outcome measures, examined using 3D gait analysis, included spatiotemporal gait parameters and the Gait Deviation Index (GDI) based on nine kinematic variables in all planes of motion. To assess feasibility, we conducted postquestionnaires and a group interview. The ADP, each lasting 90 min, was held twice per week for 12 weeks.Results: A statistically significant improvement was observed in GDI (Δ5.74 points, p = 0.014), with a large effect size (d = 0.76). Foot off (Δ-0.72%), first double support (Δ-0.2%), second double support (Δ1.5%), and single support (Δ0.64%) showed no significant differences. Step length (Δ1.48 cm), cadence (Δ3.95 steps/min), and walking speed (Δ6.41 cm/s) tended to increase, though the differences were not statistically significant. Participants expressed high levels of physical and emotional satisfaction, suggesting a need for early intervention. The ADP may improve gait patterns in adults with spastic diplegic CP. The feasibility results indicated that the ADP is suitable for adults with spastic diplegic CP. This study provides evidence for improvement in gait patterns through dance, which has not been reported in previous dance studies on individuals with CP, offering additional information on the benefits of dance.

    Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, dance, ballet, Gait, Gait Deviation Index

    Received: 05 Jun 2024; Accepted: 10 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Joung, Park and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Moon Seok Park, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, 13620, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea
    Tae Hoon Kim, Department of Dance, Changwon National University, Changwon, 641-773, South Gyeongsang, Republic of Korea

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