Treadmill training induced improvement of spinal reflex modulation in children with cerebral palsy

Objectives: In healthy children short latency leg muscle reflexes are profoundly modulated throughout the step cycle in a functionally meaningful way and contribute to the EMG pattern observed during gait. With the maturation of the corticospinal tract the reflex amplitudes are depressed by supraspinal inhibitory mechanisms. For the soleus muscle the modulation pattern shows a relative maximum in the mid-stance phase and a complete depression during the swing phase. In a recent study we could show, that the rhythmic part of the modulation pattern is present in children with early bilateral supraspinal lesion but…