Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most common neurological disorders in childhood and results from a non-progressive permanent brain injury that occurs during the prenatal or perinatal period. CP is a clinical syndrome, a set of symptoms and signs, which manifests in postural and movement disorders. Spasticity is a pathological condition resulting from upper motor neuron damage and is commonly present in children with CP. It is characterized by increased muscle tone or heightened muscle activity due to increased sensitivity of the stretch reflex. Increased muscle tone often affects mobility, causes pain, or leads to deformities over time. Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a neurosurgical procedure performed on patients with spastic CP to reduce spasticity. In addition to reducing spasticity, one of the important goals of SDR is also to improve mobility in children with CP and increasing their independence. SDR can also improve walking function, so it is important to monitor effects of the procedure in children with CP. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to determine the short-term and long-term effects of selective dorsal rhizotomy on gait function in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: The literature was searched in the PubMed and PEDro databases using various combinations of the following keywords: cerebral palsy, selective dorsal rhizotomy, long-term effects, short-term effects, gait. Results: Eight studies were included in the review, involving 229 participants. The studies showed significant short-term (within 1 year after SDR) improvements in spasticity, as well as improvement in passive range of motion, and gross motor functions. Short-term improvements were also seen in walking parameters such as step length, walking cadence, and foot progression angle. Long-term (more than 5 years after SDR) changes were reported only in the area of spasticity, however, statistically significant changes were found only in reduced spasticity. Discussion and conclusion: Based on the reviewed studies, it can be concluded that SDR positively affects the improvement of gait function in the short term after surgery, while long-term, SDR only reduces spasticity. The key finding of our literature review was that SDR alone does not lead to better gait function but must be combined and supported by appropriate rehabilitation.
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