ABSTRACT
Cerebral palsy is a group of neurological disorders that causes innumerable deficits, mainly related to motor function, compromising movements and their selective control. Among the various therapies available to try to soften this process, the cycle ergometer appears as a stationary apparatus that aims to facilitate the movement of the lower limbs. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effects of the cycle ergometer on the gross motor function of children with cerebral palsy by the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) scale. This was a systematic review, with inclusion of randomized clinical trials published until July 2017. The search was performed in MEDLINE (PubMed), Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), SciELO, and Embase. The Cochrane Handbook Scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the investigations. We selected articles that applied the cycle ergometer in children with cerebral palsy, compared to children with cerebral palsy in the control group or other intervention, and that assessed gross motor function with GMFM. The review included three articles and a total of 127 patients. The results have shown a not statistically significant increase in GMFM-66 values, not relevant for clinical improvement. This systematic review has found great heterogeneity in the studies addressing this area and, despite the increase in values in the group that used the cycle ergometer, there was no statistical difference compared to the control group, showing that it does not benefit the gross motor function of this population, when evaluated by GMFM-66.
Keywords
Exercise; Cerebral Palsy; Randomized Controlled Trial
