Effect of neurodevelopmental treatment-based physical therapy on the change of muscle strength, spasticity, and gross motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy.

There was no control group, so it cannot tell whether NDT caused the spasticity change or whether other factors did. Only children with spastic diplegia or quadriplegia were included, so the results may not apply to children with other types of cerebral palsy. The children were aged 3 to 18 years, and the paper notes that muscle tone can change with age, which makes interpretation harder. Participants had to be at least one year after orthopedic surgery and six months after botulinum toxin type A injection, so the findings do not describe NDT given during or shortly after those treatments.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The paper does not state who funded the work.

Do not conclude that neurodevelopmental treatment-based physical therapy improves strength or gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy. The study found no significant improvement in those outcomes, and because all children received the same therapy with no control group, the spasticity change cannot be attributed to NDT alone.