According to an Ann Arbor research, treadmill training can help infants who have complications before birth be able to walk earlier and better.

Injuries during the prenatal period can be corrected but there are times that toddlers can be diagnosed with serious disorders such as cerebral palsy according to Rosa Angulo-Barroso, associate professor of movement science at the U-M School of Kinesiology. She said that some of those diagnosis may come later while some mild cases may never come.

Angulo-Barroso and colleagues studied 15 infants who are at risk for neuromotor delays for two years. They tested the changes in physical activity and treadmill stepping.

The researchers observed the frequency of steps and the decrease in toe-walking over the two-year period. For those infants who were still not walking, the researchers followed-up if the child is walking at the age of 3.

They found out that those who have neuromotor delays who are using the treadmill are on the same stage as normal kids. Out of the 15 children, 6 were diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

“We found that in those with neuromotor delays, the pattern of development through time was parallel (but less) than normal kids.” said Angulo-Barroso, who is also a research associate professor at the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development. “We also found less toe-walking, so foot placement improved.”

The study also suggests a critical intervention window. Both children without a diagnosis and kids with cerebral palsy improved the most between 10 months and 18 months.

“We are putting words of caution here,” Angulo-Barroso said. “This is a feasibility study only and the results show it seems viable to do treadmill intervention.”

“Early interventions are really, really critical, so at this point I wouldn’t tell them to go find a treadmill, but I would say make sure you get a good physical therapist and work with the physical therapist to see if your kids would be a good candidate for that kind of (treadmill) intervention,” said Angulo-Barroso, who noted that the next study is a randomized sample of children to see how they respond to a formal treadmill intervention.

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