Spasticity, muscle strength and functional mobility in children with cerebral palsy and in typically developing children : A pilot study

• Main Author: Palmcrantz, Alexandra
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Avdelningen för fysioterapi 2020
• Subjects: cerebral palsy; children and adolescents; functional mobility; muscle strength; spasticity; Pediatrics; Pediatrik; Physiotherapy; Sjukgymnastik
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-173228

Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a CNS related permanent disorder following a lesion on the developing brain. Spasticity and muscle weakness are the most commonly reported impairments. Aim: To describe spasticity measured instrumentally as the muscle resistance and muscle strength in children with CP and in typically developing children (TD), and explore the relationship between muscle resistance, muscle strength and functional mobility. Method: Measurements of the muscle resistance in plantarflexors with Neuroflexor®. Muscle strength measurements in the lower leg with a rig-fixed dynamometry in n= 4 children with CP and in n = 11 TD children. Timed Up and Go (TUG) test measured in seconds in 4 children with CP. Results: Mann- Whitney U test showed a significant increased muscle resistance in plantarflexors during a fast movement between children with CP and TD children (p = 0.044). It was significantly shown that the children with CP were weaker in their dorsiflexors compared to the group of TD children (p = 0,001). Analysis for muscle resistance and TUG was collected for 2 children with CP and therefore no correlation analysis could be made. Conclusion: This pilot study indicates that the children with CP were weaker in their dorsiflexors compared to TD children and that muscle resistance measured during a passive elongation was higher, but no statistically significant conclusion can be made due to few included numbers of participants.