Effect of Strength Training Aquatic Therapy (STAT) protocol on lower limb strength and motor function in children with Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy - A pre-post pilot study

This study is a pre post pilot experimental study that aims to evaluate the effect of a Strength Training Aquatic Therapy protocol on lower limb muscle strength and motor function in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a non progressive neurological disorder that affects movement and posture and spastic diplegia is the most common subtype predominantly involving the lower limbs. Aquatic therapy is considered beneficial in this population due to the buoyancy thermal and mechanical properties of water which help reduce spasticity joint loading and balance demands while facilitating movement and strengthening.

The study will be conducted over a period of six months and will include eleven children aged five to fourteen years diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy classified under GMFCS levels one to three. Participants will be recruited from a tertiary care hospital and special schools in Belagavi. After obtaining ethical clearance informed parental consent and child assent baseline assessment will be done for lower limb muscle strength gross motor function selective motor control spasticity and range of motion.

The intervention consists of the STAT protocol administered three times a week for six weeks in a temperature controlled aquatic pool. Each session includes warm up progressive strengthening and functional exercises and cool down. Outcome measures include hand held dynamometry GMFM sixty six SCALE Modified Ashworth Scale and goniometry which will be assessed at baseline three weeks and six weeks.

Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and appropriate inferential tests to determine the effectiveness of the protocol. The study intends to provide preliminary evidence on whether a structured progressive aquatic strength training protocol can improve lower limb strength motor function selective motor control spasticity and range of motion in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy and help guide future larger trials.