Do Core Stability Exercise Classes Help Children With Cerebral Palsy Improve Their Balance

"The aim of the intervention is to teach the participants active alignment and core stability, in order to influence their balance strategies. The exercises carried out will teach participants how and when to activate deep core stabilizing muscles. These exercises will be taught in a child-friendly way using imagery appropriate for the age of the participants. They will carry out activities like wall squats, 4-point kneeling, Transverses abdominis activation and gym ball sitting.~Participants will also be supplied with a Home Exercise Programme (HEP) sheet with explanations for exercises that they will be asked to carry out on their 'off' days over the 4 week period. They will be asked to keep a record of their compliance with this."

The control group will partake in their usual physiotherapy care during the 4 week control period. They will not include core stability or balance specific exercises in their physiotherapy programme for the duration of the control period. If they are receiving active physiotherapy treatment during this time, the duration and frequency of this intervention is recorded