Introduction & Objective: Despite of many studies on cerebral palsy (CP), the impacts of this disease on musculoskeletal function especially on the dynamic balance of the CP patients is not well understood. This information can improve the quality of the treatment. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the differences between the dynamic balance performance of normal and CP children in different conditions.

Materials & Methods: Ten children with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy between 8 to15 years of age and with mean weight and height of 30.8±5.7_kg and 1.35±0.09_mrespectively, underwent an exercise therapy program for 12 weeks. A stability platform system was used to measure the deviation on the mean point of the application of the center of gravity (COG) from the center of base of support (COBOS). The balance tests were repeated on stable and unstable base of support as well as with and without shoes.  

Results:  It was shown that the mean deviation of COG of the CP children improves about 25% after exercise therapy (p=0.001). The most improvement was in mid-stable and unstable of base of support as well as in AP direction. Mean deviations of COG was near to natural pattern  

Conclusion: The mean deviation of COG of the CP patients was significantly increased in dynamic standing which shows the poor function of the proprioceptive system in these children. Exercise therapy improves the mean deviation of COG in dynamic standing. These results show the importance of the shoes on the treatment procedures of the spastic CP children