The Present Circumstances of Rehabilitation for Children with Spina Bifida / The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine

ABSTRACT

Disabilities in children with spina bifida include those due to central nervous system dysfunction, motor-and-sensory disturbances of the trunk and lower extremities, and excretory disorders. These lead to the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach by medical doctors, rehabilitation staff, nurses, and psychologists involved in the treatment. As motor weakness leads to disturbances in ambulation, physiatrists and physical therapists must deal with the patients with enough knowledge about the factors affecting ambulation, the assessment of motor function, and the indications/limitations of physical therapy and brace treatment. Ambulatory status is affected by motor and sensory deficits, deformities and contractures of the legs, spinal deformities, equilibrium, mental status and so forth, among which the neurosegmental level of paraplegia is the most important variable. Physical therapy in neonates and infants includes careful assessment of the neonate, manual exercise to correct deformities and to improve contractures, positioning and handling leading to sitting and standing exercises. Once the sitting balance is stable, standing and walking exercises should be considered. In patients with higher neurosegmental levels involved, the practical way of ambulation in the future is by wheelchair. Whether standing and walking exercises are indicated in these patients is controversial. In those with lower levels involved, braces may be prescribed considering the muscle strength and the joint stability. Treatments of hip dislocations and spinal deformities are also controversial. Finally, in the overall rehabilitation approach, the possibility of osteopenia and latex allergy should be kept in mind.