Effect of Swiss Ball Stabilization Training on Trunk Control, Abdominal Muscle Thickness, Balance, and Motor Skills of Children With Spastic Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized, Superiority Trial

To compare the effects of Swiss ball stabilization training (SBST) and stable surface stabilization training (SSST) on the trunk control, abdominal muscle thickness, balance, and motor skills of children with spastic cerebral palsy (CWSCP). Single-blind, randomized superiority trial. General Community and Referral Center. Thirty CWSCP, aged 6-12 years, with Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I-III were randomly assigned to the SBST and SSST groups (N=30). The participants were randomized to receive either SBST or SSST for 5 weeks, 3 days a week. The Trunk Control Measurement Scale (TCMS), abdominal muscle thickness, Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS), standing and walking sections of Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88), and mobility section of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) were assessed. After 5 weeks of the intervention and 9 weeks of follow-up, the SBST group showed statistically significant improvements in the TCMS, GMFM-88, PEDI, thickness of the internal oblique muscle at rest and contraction, and thickness of the transverse abdominis muscle at rest and contraction compared with the SSST group (P