Effectiveness of play therapy over conventional physiotherapy in spastic diplegic cerebral palsy children.

Background: Play therapy has become an important part of physiotherapy treatment program to improve functional outcome in children with cerebral palsy. This study is to examine the effectiveness of play therapy together with conventional therapy to improve the hand function ability in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Methods: 30 spastic diplegic cerebral palsy children were divided into two groups, Group-I received conventional physiotherapy alone where as Group-II received play therapy and conventional therapy (n=15) both. The treatment was given 3 days a week for 6 weeks continuously for both the groups. Results: After the treatment period Group II who received play therapy in addition to conventional therapy scored significantly higher on the Box and block test and Nine hole peg test for grasp and release showing p<0.05. Conclusion: Play therapy along with conventional physiotherapy was found to be much effective in improving the hand function in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. This study may help the physiotherapist to utilize and evaluate the functional outcomes using play therapy in cerebral palsy children.

Kinematic Gait Analysis in Children with Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy after Selective Posterior Rhizotomy: Long Term Follow Up

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the changes of kinematic gait patterns at long-term follow up study after selective posterior rhizotomy (SPR) in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. METHOD: Eighteen children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy participated in this study. Gait patterns on sagittal plane were studied before and at average 3.5 years after SPR. Kinematic and temporospatial data were obtained by the VICON 370 system. RESULTS: The spasticity of hip adductor and ankle plantar flexor were improved significantly after SPR. The maximal angle of pelvic tilt, ankle dorsiflexion angle at initial contact, peak ankle dorsiflexion angle during stance phase, at toe-off and during swing phase, mid-range point of flexion-extension motion on ankle were significantly improved after SPR. The temporospatial data tended to improve after SPR at long-term follow up. CONCLUSION: The SPR reduced spasticity and the gait pat terns were improved in children with spastic diplegic cere bral palsy at long-term follow up.