Effects of an Adapted Dance Exercise Program on Trunk Control, Balance and Functional Mobility in Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy: Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

Aims: The study aimed to investigate whether an 8-week adapted dance exercise program (ADEP), delivered in addition to conventional physiotherapy, would improve trunk control, balance, functional mobility, and quality of life (QoL) in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) compared with conventional physiotherapy alone. Methods: Thirty participants with CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System Level I - II) were randomly assigned to the ADEP group (n = 15) or the control group (n = 15). Both groups received conventional physiotherapy, while the ADEP group additionally performed physiotherapist-choreographed dance exercises accompanied by music, twice a week for 8 weeks. Outcomes included the Trunk Control Measurement Scale (TCMS) for trunk control, the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) for balance, the Timed Up and Go (TUG) for functional mobility, and the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) for QoL. Results: The ADEP group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group in TCMS-Total (Delta = 10.53 vs 3.50, p < .001), TCMS-selective motor control (Delta = 6.00 vs 1.42, p < .001), TCMS-dynamic sitting balance (Delta = 7.53 vs 2.28, p < .001), and PODCI-Global scores (Delta = 4.61 vs -1.71, p < .001). Both groups improved in PBS and TUG, but between-group differences were not significant. Effect sizes indicated large improvements in trunk control in favor of the ADEP group. Conclusions: An 8-week ADEP program, when combined with conventional physiotherapy, produced clinically meaningful gains in trunk control and QoL in children and adolescents with CP. These findings support the use of dance-based rehabilitation as a feasible and engaging adjunct to physiotherapy.