Effectiveness of Wearable Trackers and Telerehabilitation in Cerebral Palsy

Launched by KUTAHYA HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY · Jan 24, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This trial is testing whether adding wearable activity trackers and a mobile app–guided telerehabilitation program to a usual rehabilitation plan helps adolescents with cerebral palsy become more physically active and improve related quality of life, sleep, balance, participation, and motivation, compared with the standard rehab program alone. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups for about six weeks: (1) telerehabilitation, where they get weekly home-exercise guidance through a smartphone app with videos and reminders plus tracking of progress, and (2) conventional exercise, which uses printed home-exercise instructions. All participants continue their regular rehabilitation, and researchers will compare changes in activity, enjoyment of activity, quality of life, sleep quality, trunk control, and participation between the groups.

Eligible participants are teens aged 14–18 with cerebral palsy who are already in regular rehab and have a GMFCS level of 1–3 (mild to moderate movement limitations). They must have no cognitive problems that would make the exercises hard to understand, must consent to participate, and should not have had major surgery or barriers to using a smartphone or wearable device in the past six months. The study is being conducted at Kutahya Health Sciences University in Turkey. Outcomes are measured before the start and after about six weeks, using tools that assess physical activity (PAQ-A), enjoyment of physical activity (PAES), quality of life (CP-QoL Teen), sleep quality (PSQI), and trunk control (TCMS). Results aren’t available yet, and the trial is currently enrolling by invitation.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Aged between 14 and 18 years old
• • Diagnosed with cerebral palsy
• • Currently enrolled in a regular rehabilitation programme
• • Level 1-3 according to Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS)
• • No cognitive impairments affecting the understanding of exercise programmes
• • Voluntary informed consent to participate
• • No recent surgeries (e.g. botox, muscle relaxation) within the past 6 months
• • No socioeconomic issues related to the use of smart devices
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • The impact of recent surgical procedures or medical interventions on physical performance.
• • The influence of health conditions that affect the entire body and physical performance.