Effectiveness of Robotic Gait Training and Physical Therapy for Children and Youth With Cerebral Palsy
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT02391324. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Robotic Gait Training and Gait-focused Physical Therapy Programs for Children and Youth With Cerebral Palsy: A Mixed Methods Randomized Controlled Trial
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Robot assisted gait training is seen as a promising intervention for improving the walking abilities of children with cerebral palsy, but research to support its effectiveness compared to best practice physical therapy is lacking. This research consists of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and a qualitative descriptive study that is linked with the RCT. The goal of the RCT is to compare: 1) a walking training program with the Lokomat® robotic device (LOK), 2) a functional physical therapy program (fPT) that includes activities to enhance balance/co-ordination/endurance and advanced motor skills conducted over 'real ground', 3) a combined Lokomat® + functional physical therapy (LOK+fPT) program, and 4) a regular maintenance therapy condition (CONT) for ambulatory children and youth with CP (aged 5- 18 years). The three intervention programs will consist of sixteen 50-minute sessions given twice weekly over 8 to 10 weeks. The primary objective of the RCT is to compare the four groups with respect to walking-related motor skills as measured by the Gross Motor Function Measure. The secondary objectives are to compare each intervention's impact on walking abilities, individualized goals, fitness, balance, physical activity levels, child's belief in ability to do physical activity, participation and quality of life. The investigators will also evaluate the extent of carryover or progress 3 months after the intervention. The qualitative part of the study will consist of interviews of children and parents after they have finished the study intervention. The information from the interviews will assist us with interpretation of the outcome results (areas of impact and amount of change) from the RCT. In particular, the interviews will 1) provide insight into their experiences with the trial interventions, 2) identify the mobility-related outcomes that are important to families and the factors that influence their preferences, and 3) explain the family values, experiences and contextual factors that influenced participation in the study. This research will provide information needed to allow clinicians and families to make informed choices about Lokomat therapy and physical therapy options in relation to their child's functional goals and abilities.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT02391324
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 68 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
- Lokomat (LOK) Procedure
- Gait focused physical therapy (fPT) Procedure
- LOK + fPT Procedure
Procedure
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 5 Years to 18 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Dec 31, 2015
- Primary completion
- Mar 30, 2025
- Completion
- Mar 30, 2025
- Last update posted
- May 3, 2026
2016 – 2025
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirley Ryan AbilityLab | Chicago | Illinois | 60611 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
Non-U.S. locations
This page focuses on the U.S. directory. The official record also lists 2 non-U.S. sites.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT02391324, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted May 3, 2026 · Synced Sep 1, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT02391324 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.