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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1459839

Effects of a therapeutic suit based on myofascial meridians on postural control and balance in children with cerebral palsy: A multiplebaseline, single-subject study

Provisionally accepted
Thalita Karla Flores Cruz Thalita Karla Flores Cruz 1*Deisiane Oliveira Souto Deisiane Oliveira Souto 2Rafhael Guimarães Capuchinho Rafhael Guimarães Capuchinho 3Arthur Felipe Barroso De Lima Arthur Felipe Barroso De Lima 2Amanda Aparecida Alves Cunha Nascimento Amanda Aparecida Alves Cunha Nascimento 1Ianara Pereira Silva Ianara Pereira Silva 2Patrícia Aparecida Neves Santana Patrícia Aparecida Neves Santana 1Lia Constantino Criscoullo Lia Constantino Criscoullo 4Vitor Geraldi Haase Vitor Geraldi Haase 1,4
  • 1 Graduate Program in Neurosciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Mato Grosso, Brazil
  • 2 Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
  • 3 Reabilitar Rehabilitation Clinic, Ribeirão das Neves, Brazil
  • 4 Graduate Program in Psychology: Cognition and Behavior, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

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

    Aim: To investigate the effects of an intervention programme based on the TREINI Exoflex therapeutic suit on balance, postural control, activity, and participation outcomes in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: A multiple-baseline, single-subject A/B research design was used. Balance, postural control, mobility, activities of daily living (ADLs), and goal attainment measures were collected for four children with CP. The intervention was a programme designed for the use of a therapeutic suit, that is, the TREINI Exoflex. The 2-SD band and percentage of non-overlapping data methods were used to compare outcomes between the baseline and intervention phases. Results: The intervention improved balance and postural control in all four children. The scope of the intervention on activity and participation outcomes varied between children. All children showed improvements in at least one stipulated goal and two in mobility and ADLs. Improvements in goal achievement occurred mainly for balance-related goals, whereas behavioural goals were not achieved. Conclusion: The results of this study support the use of the TREINI Exoflex suit during functional activities by children with CP. Future research should examine the effects of this approach in children of different ages and at different functional levels.

    Keywords: cerebral palsy1, Balance2, Postural control3, therapeutic suit4, TREINI Exoflex5

    Received: 23 Sep 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Cruz, Souto, Capuchinho, Barroso De Lima, Nascimento, Silva, Santana, Criscoullo and Haase. 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: Thalita Karla Flores Cruz, Graduate Program in Neurosciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Mato Grosso, Brazil

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