Parental Reviews On Outcome 0f Night Splints In Children With Spastic Diplegia - A Regional Survey In Kerala, India

Orthotic supports play a very vital role in preventing limb deformities and supporting it in its functions. The aims and objectives of prescribing an orthotic splint for children with cerebral palsy varies widely. Basically there are two types of splints – Supportive & Positional splints. Positional splints aims to improve and maintain muscle lengths and joint positions. These are usually prescribed as night splints. However, how far these splinting meet its expectations are not known. In this survey, we studied the parents’ satisfaction range of 68 cases with spastic cerebral palsy and presented along with our inference.

Strength training on gait parameters of spastic children

To study the efficacy of "Strength Training" on gait parameters of spastic CP. Informal experimental design [before and after no control group design]. Child Development Centre, Valancheri, Kerala. Twenty six spastic cerebral palsy children with a mean age of 4.6 years, including nine male and eighteen females were studied for a total duration of eight months. All the children were selected following strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study group was a mix of children with crouching, hemiparesis and vertical knee stiffness. Following the baseline evaluation procedures, the children were treated with specially structured Strength Training under the NSCA guidelines. Post intervention data were collected at the end of four months of training. Gait speed, one minute walk test, timed up and go test, thirty seconds sit to stand test, ten meter walk test, Community Balance and Mobility scale, "Modified Ashworth Scale". The pre and post-test values were treated statistically using SPSS software. Student's t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank sum test were used to study the significance. An analysis was done to assess the effects of the intervention on subgroups of CP also. Compound resistance training is effective to improve the gait parameters in spastic cerebral palsy children. Children with crouching demonstrated superior improvements in the gait parameters compared to children with hemiparesis and stiff knee

Effective re-education of [Two joints muscle synergism] to promote gait variables in spastic cerebral palsy: an empirical study

Objective: To identify and compare the [two joint muscles] mechanics of spastic cerebral palsies and to manipulate the [two joint muscles] mechanics to improve gait quality in spastic CPs

Materials and Methods: Nine Spastic CPs, [two males and seven females, of mean age 4.9 years], were studied, following the categorical selection criteria. The therapeutic regimen was reinforced by, [specific muscle reeducation techniques] focusing to inhibit the abnormal synergism

Results: The spastics had higher stiffness due to the primary impairments [muscle tone/movement patterns, distribution, balance etc.], differences in the landing angles of feet due to secondary impairments [ROM, joint alignment, force production, etc.] and higher energy requirements. Interventions to enhance outcomes were positively correlated

Conclusion: The potential determinants of motor change in two joint muscles could assist in the functional performance with regard to gait and posture. Biochemical studies on energy requirements in CPs are recommended