Foot Orthosis and Balance in Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy Children with Pronated Feet

Background: The foot is the most distal segment in the lower extremity chain and represents a relatively small base of support upon which the body maintains balance. The purpose of this study was to compare between the effects of Supramalleolar Orthosis and University of California Berkeley laboratory foot orthosis on balance in hemiparetic cerebral palsy children with pronated feet.Subjects and Methods: Thirty hemiparetic cerebral palsy children from both sexes ranged in age from six to ten years participated in this study. They were assigned randomly into two groups of equal numbers, Group (A) children were managed with Supramalleolar Orthosis and Group (B) children were managed with University of California Berkeley Laboratory foot orthosis. Each patient of the two groups was evaluated before and after using both orthoses by Biodex Balance System (antero posterior, medio lateral and overall stability) in laboratory of balance in faculty of physical therapy. All children in both groups received traditional physical therapy program for one hour per day in three sessions per week with an instruction to wear the orthoses for eighteen hours per day for six weeks.Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in all measured variables before wearing the orthosis (p 0.05), while there was significant difference when comparing their pre and post mean values in all measured variables in each group (p 0.01).Conclusion: Both orthoses can enhance balance in hemiparetic cerebral palsy children with pronated feet.