The Efficacy of Neurodevelopmental Treatment in Paediatrics: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) is widely used by clinicians when working with children diagnosed with neurological dysfunction, such as cerebral palsy, high-risk/low-birthweight infants or traumatic brain injury. The objective of this project was to determine the efficacy of NDT, used with a group of paediatric subjects diagnosed with a neurological dysfunction, through the completion of a systematic search and review of the relevant published research literature. Using a computerised literature search strategy of nine databases, expert consultation, and a hand search of 14 relevant journals and reference lists, 147 relevant citations were identified for consideration. Of the 147 articles reviewed, 17 met the inclusion criteria for further review. These studies were assessed for concealment of treatment allocation (Shulz et al 1995), quality assessment of randomised clinical trial using the Jadad scale (Jadad et al 1996) and level of evidence using the Sackett scale (Sackett 1989). A level of agreement between the two independent reviewers was calculated for each step of the systematic review process using the kappa statistic (κ). Tables containing the details and status of the 17 studies are included. Overall, the results regarding the efficacy of NDT were largely inconclusive since there were a similar number of published research studies supporting the benefit of NDT intervention (n=6) as compared with no benefit (n=9). One study did not specifically address the efficacy of NDT, while another study was unclear as to whether or not NDT was beneficial. The studies that included the use of NDT with paediatric subjects diagnosed with cerebral palsy also had inconsistent results regarding the efficacy of NDT. The studies that included the use of NDT with high-risk/low-birthweight infants did not support the usefulness of NDT with this paediatric client group. A detailed description of the systematic review process used in the completion of this paper is also included.

Efficacy of Early Physiotherapy Intervention in Preterm Infant Motor Development— A Systematic Review—

“…These physical therapy interventions have the aim of optimizing motor development and, in general, are mainly based on Bobath's neurodevelopment treatment principles, which are used to modify sensory information and anomalous movement patterns in order to improve motor development through passive and active techniques 14,15) . Systematic reviews of the effects of the Bobath method in children with neurologic dysfunction have not been conclusive.…”

“…Systematic reviews of the effects of the Bobath method in children with neurologic dysfunction have not been conclusive. In 2001, Brown et al reported there were positive results for neurodevelopment treatment in six out of 15 studies 14) . In 1986, Ottenbacher et al reported a small effect of the treatment on motor progress compared to a control group 16,17) .…”

Occupational therapy for children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review

“…8 Until now, no systematic summary has been produced of the evidence of the ef cacy of various OT interventions in children with CP. Five reviews [9][10][11][12][13] do address OT-related topics in CP but three of these were narrative in origin, [11][12][13] while the two systematic reviews 9,10 focused on the ef cacy of very speci c interventions applied within OT, viz. NDT in general and adaptive seating respectively.…”

Effeciveness of Neurodevelpmental Technique (Ndt) on Gait Parameters in Children With Spastic Diplegia

“…Among a variety of traditional interventions, neurodevelopmental treatment has been predominantly used over the years [11,12]. Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of neurodevelopmental technique on gait paramaters in children with spastic diplegia.…”