Pre-operative walking activity in youth with cerebral palsy

Background No data are available regarding level of walking activity for youth with cerebral palsy (CP) before undergoing orthopeadic surgery. The goals of this study were to quantify pre-operative walking activity, and determine whether pre-operative values are different from previously defined levels of walking activity in youth with CP. Procedures This study retrospectively evaluated pre-operative walking activity in youth with spastic CP, GMFCS levels I–IV. Walking activity was monitored using the StepWatch™. Outcome variables included mean daily strides, percent of day active, and percent of active time at high activity. Differences between GMFCS levels were examined and comparisons were made to published data. Results Pre-operative walking activity data from 126 youth with CP were included. All variables demonstrated higher walking activity in youth at GMFCS levels I/II compared to those at GMFCS levels III/IV. When compared to previously defined walking activity levels, pre-operative walking activity was lower. Conclusions Walking activity among pre-operative youth with CP is significantly lower than published data for ambulatory youth with CP. Results suggest that youth with CP who are surgical candidates have less walking activity than youth with CP without surgical needs. Therefore this study should encourage the effort to collect and analyze individual pre-operative data for comparison and evaluation of post-operative functional recovery.