Developmental Neurorehabilitation published research on the long term effects of physical therapy on children with cerebral palsy.  A retrospective review was performed on 56 children with cerebral palsy (GMFCS levels I-V) who were treated with physical therapy from 2008-2011.  Their motor function was assessed every three months.  The results indicated the following:

• significant improvements on the Gross Motor Function Measure in all levels
• children at the GMFCS Level II exhibited faster progression of skills
• younger children with CP had better PT efficacy
• improvements were seen at 8.4 years old in the older group

The researchers concluded that long term conventional physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy was effective even in older children but especially in younger children and GMFCS Level II.
Reference: Chen YN, Liao SF, Su LF, Huang HY, Lin CC, Wei TS. The effect of long-term conventional physical therapy and independent predictive factors analysis in children with cerebral palsy. Dev Neurorehabil. 2013 Mar 11. [Epub ahead of print]
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