Physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy: The use of traditional techniques and innovative rehabilitation approaches in the correction of motor dysfunctions (literature review)

Abstract

Background. Cerebral palsy remains one of the leading causes of persistent motor impairment in childhood and necessitates long-term, evidence-based physical therapy. Despite the widespread use of traditional rehabilitation methods, current clinical practice is characterized by substantial variability in approaches and insufficient standardization of interventions, which highlights the need for a comparative analysis of their effectiveness from the perspective of evidence-based medicine.

Aim. To review contemporary scientific sources on the use of traditional and modern physical therapy approaches in children with cerebral palsy.

Materials and Methods. The study was conducted using bibliosemantic and comparative methods. A search for scientific sources was conducted in the scientometric databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for the years 2016–2025. A total of 21 sources were included in the analysis. The study was conducted as a private initiative of the authors and did not receive grant funding.

Research Ethics. During the study, literature sources were selected that describe research conducted by authors who adhered to modern bioethical standards.

Results. Analysis of the sources showed that traditional physical therapy methods, including neurodevelopmental therapy, general functional exercises, and sitting and gait training, provide a basic correction of motor impairments. At the same time, they are characterized by moderate effectiveness and a high dependence on intervention intensity and individualized application. The analysis also showed that traditional and modern physical therapy approaches differ primarily in their mechanisms of action, intervention structure, intensity, demands on child participation, and sets of functional goals. In the included studies, modern technology-assisted or intensive programs were more often associated with improvements in selected functional outcomes; however, direct comparison of their effectiveness with traditional approaches is methodologically limited because of the heterogeneity of study designs, samples, intervention duration, and outcome assessment methods.

Conclusions. The most promising rehabilitation programs are those that combine traditional and innovative physical therapy methods with an emphasis on intensity and repeated motor practice.

Keywords: physical therapy, pediatrics, motor disorders, rehabilitation, evidence-based medicine.