A difficulty in walking caused by cerebral palsy , the so-called crouching gait, has been overcome in children thanks to a prosthesis developed by a team of scientists from the University of Northern Arizona.
Exoskeleton
The prosthesis is an exoskeleton that has allowed all the children who have tried it to be able to walk without external help, and 78% have achieved it on the first day.
The results obtained are further proof of the effectiveness of external prostheses to improve the motor skills of disabled people. The prosthesis changes children’s posture through bursts of knee extension during walking, thus, the extensor muscles of this part of the body remain active while the device is attached .
Research on this new device has been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine .
In Spain, approximately 120,000 people suffer from cerebral palsy . This disorder (caused by brain lesions between the fetal period and 3 years) is the most common cause of motor disability in childhood, and on many occasions it prevents walking.