Effect of lidocaine iontophoresis combined with exercise intervention on gait and spasticity in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Gait deviations and spasticity are common impairments seen in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and may interfere with functional performance and effective walking pattern. Lidocaine iontophoresis is effective for reducing muscle spasticity in adults. PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of lidocaine epinephrine iontophoresis combined with exercises on gait and spasticity in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP). METHODS: Thirty children with spastic HCP aged 4-6 (5.20±0.32) years were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n = 15) and control group (n = 15). Children in both groups received one hour of exercises, three times a week for three months. Children in the experimental group received 2% lidocaine iontophoresis immediately before the exercises. The lidocaine iontophoresis was delivered for 20 minutes (1mA/min). Spatio-temporal gait parameters were assessed within one week before and after the intervention using 3D motion analysis. Surface electromyography was used to assess muscle tone using H/M ratio of the soleus muscle. ANOVA was used to investigate the differences between experimental and control groups. Statistical significance was set at P value less than 0.05. RESULTS: There was no difference between groups at baseline. Post-intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements when compared to the control group for gait speed (p = 0.03), stride length (p = 0.04), cadence (p = 0.0001), cycle time (p = 0.0001), and H/M ratio (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Lidocaine iontophoresis combined with exercises was effective in improving gait spatiotemporal parameters and reducing spasticity in children with CP.