• Shamekh Mohamed El-Shamy, Mohamed Ahmed Eid, and Mohamed Fawzy El-Banna.
• From the Faculty of Physical Therapy, Department of Physical Therapy for Disturbance of Growth and Development in Children and its Surgery, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
• Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Dec 1; 93 (12): 1065-72.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of shock wave therapy on gait pattern in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.DesignFifteen children were assigned to the study group, whose members received shock wave therapy (1500 shots/muscle, frequency of 5Hz, energy of 0.030 mJ/mm, one session/wk). Another 15 were assigned to the control group, whose members participated in a conventional physical therapy exercise program for 3 successive months. Baseline and posttreatment assessments were performed using the Modified Ashworth Scale to evaluate spasticity degrees and using a three-dimensional gait analysis to evaluate gait parameters.ResultsChildren in the study group showed a significant improvement when compared with those in the control group (P < 0.005). The Modified Ashworth scores after treatment were 1.86 (0.22) and 1.63 (0.23) for the control and study groups, respectively. The gait parameters (stride length, cadence, speed, cycle time, and stance phase percentage) after treatment were 0.5 m, 125 steps/min, 0.6 m/sec, 0.48 sec, and 50.4% and 0.74 m, 119 steps/min, 0.75 m/sec, 0.65 sec, and 55.9% for the control group and the study group, respectively.ConclusionsShock wave therapy may be a useful tool for improving spasticity and gait pattern in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

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