Kinematic Similarity of Frontal and Transverse Plane Joint Profiles Before and After PRODROBOT Gait Training in Children with Neurological Disorders in Relation to Healthy Individuals

Background: Robot-assisted gait training is increasingly used in pediatric neurorehabilitation, but its effects on the full time-course of gait kinematics remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to determine whether intensive gait training with the automated PRODROBOT device could improve frontal- and transverse-plane kinematic profiles in children with neurological disorders and shift them toward the gait pattern of healthy peers. Methods: A prospective single-arm pre–post study was conducted in 10 children with cerebral palsy aged 8–13 years who underwent 20 PRODROBOT training sessions over 4 weeks. A control group comprised 18 healthy age-matched children. Three-dimensional gait analysis was performed before intervention (KF1) and after intervention (KF2). The primary outcome was the similarity of full frontal- and transverse-plane kinematic waveforms of the hip, knee, and ankle/foot relative to pre–post changes and to the healthy reference profiles, assessed using the difference factor (f1) and similarity factor (f2). Results: Only two within-group pre–post comparisons met both similarity criteria: hip rotation KF2 versus KF1 (f1 = 13.9%, f2 = 83.7) and ankle rotation KF2 versus KF1 (f1 = 4.1%, f2 = 67.4). These findings indicate similarity between the pre- and post-intervention profiles within the intervention group, rather than normalization relative to the control group. In comparisons with healthy controls, most variables retained elevated f1 values, indicating persistent quantitative deviation from the reference gait pattern. Conclusions: PRODROBOT-assisted gait training was associated with partial reorganization of selected kinematic waveforms rather than full normalization of gait. The intervention appeared more effective in improving waveform consistency and selected transverse-plane features than in correcting persistent distal and rotational deviations linked to more complex structural or neuromuscular factors.