Author(s)

Thomas Besios¹, Aggeloussis Nikolaos², Gourgoulis Vassilios², Mauromatis Giorgos², Yannis Tzioumakis³, Nikos Comoutos³

¹Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece.
²Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece.
³Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of the NDT method (Bobath) in children with CP. Twenty children with cerebral palsy (7 with quadriplegia, 6 with diplegia and 7 with right hemiplegia), with mean age of 4. 85 ± 2. 49 years, took part in the study. Materials-Method: The children participated in an intervention that consisted of an 8-week Bobath program. GMFM-88, PEDI and TUG scores were measured across three time points during the intervention (a baseline measurement, a second at the end of the intervention and a post-intervention measurement one month after the end of the intervention). Results: The results of the NDT intervention showed that the participant children significantly improved their GMFM-88 and TUG scores between initial and final measurement and maintained this one month later (F_2,36 = 69,778, p < 0.001), while in PEDI the intervention program had no statistically significant effect (F_2,36 = 0.844, p = 0.438). In conclusion, there is strong evidence of the effectiveness of the NDT (Bobath) method in improving the mobility of children regardless of the frequency of its application.

Bobath, NDT, Cerebral Palsy, Hemiplegia, Children

Besios, T. , Nikolaos, A. , Vassilios, G. , Giorgos, M. , Tzioumakis, Y. and Comoutos, N. (2018) Effects of the Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT) on the Mobility of Children with Cerebral Palsy. Open Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 6, 95-103. doi: 10.4236/ojtr.2018.64009.