Balance control in gait children with cerebral palsy

•We aimed to highlight the balance control process during gait in children with CP.•We assessed gait as a dynamic imbalance which has to be accepted and controlled.•An intercorrelation between the COM-COP trajectory and the forces was conducted.•We highlighted the different strategies used during gait by children with CP.•This research can be useful in understanding and the rehabilitation of these children.

This study sought to highlight the balance control process during gait in children with cerebral palsy (CP) by analyzing the different strategies used in order to generate forward motion while maintaining balance. Data were collected using a motion analysis system in order to provide a clinical gait analysis for 16 children with CP and 16 children with typical development. Significant differences between the two groups are observed in terms of kinetic data of the propulsive forces of the center of mass (COM) and of the center of pressure (COP) dynamic trajectory and for locomotor parameters. The imbalance generated by divergent trajectories of COM and COP produce the propulsive forces responsible for human gait initiation. Moreover, we observe in children with CP an “en bloc” postural strategy resulting in increasing divergence between trajectories of COM-COP. This particular strategy of the children with CP is characterized by a greater time duration between the moment of COM-COP trajectory divergence and the moment where the forward propulsive forces became apparent.