Trial reportPloS one2025
The effect of traditional Thai massage vs routine physical therapy on gait pattern in spastic cerebral palsy: A cross-over randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of a 12-week Tai Chi program on postural stability and gait biomechanics in prefrail older adults: a randomized controlled study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Trial
- Management of spastic diplegic cerebral palsy using ayurveda.Bioinformation · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVarious types of massage, including the traditional Thai, have not yet provided conclusive evidence to reduce the spasticity and improve walking ability for cerebral palsy (CP).
objectivesTo assess the effect of traditional Thai massage (TM) vs. a standard physical therapy (PT) on gait pattern in spastic CP.
methodsA cross-over single blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted between October 2022 and October 2023 (Thai Clinical Trials Registry: TCTR20220530007). Individuals with aged 5 years or older, and diagnosed as spastic CP, Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) I-III were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned into group A (TM followed by PT), and group B (PT followed by TM). Each treatment lasted for 6 weeks (Phase I-II), with a 6-week washout period. Lower extremity range of motion, muscle tone, electromyography, gait profile score (GPS), oxygen consumption was blindly assessed and intention-to-treat analyzed.
resultsFrom 32 eligible patients (16 cases per group), average age was 16.1 ± 9.8 years (group A), and 13.6 ± 5.8 years (group B). Group B demonstrated higher left ankle dorsiflexion than group A (1.7 ± 13.0 degrees vs 12.1 ± 6.9 degrees, P-value = 0.011). GPS slightly improved in Phase I, and contradictory enhanced in TM while deteriorated in PT in Phase II without significant differences between groups. After adjusted for ankle dorsiflexion, TM significantly provided less overall GPS (-1.6 (95% confidence interval (CI) -2.6, -0.6), P-value = 0.001), and higher peak activity of right rectus femoris (0.132 mV (95%CI 0.001, 0.262), P-value = 0.030) compared to PT. Other outcomes did not differ significantly between two treatments, and no complication was detected.
conclusionsTM has a positive effect on gait performance, as indicated by GPS and increased activity in the right rectus femoris muscle when compared to PT. A large-scale non-inferiority trial is required to affirm the impact of TM.
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