Short-burst interval treadmill training walking capacity and performance in cerebral palsy: a pilot study.

No control group, so changes cannot be separated from usual therapies or other factors not controlled by the study. The sample was only 12 children with spastic diplegia, GMFCS levels II and III, ages 5 to 12, so it does not address children with other CP types, higher GMFCS levels, or older children. Walking capacity was measured by an unblinded examiner, although daily walking performance used an accelerometer. The comparison of 5 sessions per week versus 2 sessions per week was exploratory and small, so frequency findings need caution. Parent-reported physical activity, participation, fatigue, and pain outcomes were exploratory. One child could not train up to a full 30 minutes in a 60-minute session, so the protocol may not be tolerated by all children. Participants could continue ongoing therapies and medications, so the contribution of any single treatment cannot be separated.

Do not read the gains in 12 children as proof that short-burst treadmill training alone caused them. There was no control group, children could continue usual therapies, and the dose-frequency comparison was exploratory.