The European Journal of Paediatric Neurology published research on the use of intrathecal baclofen (ITB) on sitting in 23 children (mean age 10 years 10 months) with cerebral palsy with severe spasticity. Using the sitting dimension of the Gross Motor Function Measure, sitting was compared prior to ITB and following ITB. The results indicated the […]
Physical Therapy published a systemic review of available instruments to measure upper extremity strength in children with cerebral palsy. The researchers identified 6 different measurement instruments. Two test-retest reliability studies were rated as “fair” for the level of evidence. All other studies were rated as “unknown” for the level of evidence.The researchers concluded the following: […]
A systematic review of the efficacy of nonsurgical upper limb therapies for children with unilateral cerebral palsy was published in Pediatrics. There were 42 randomized control or comparison trials that met the inclusion criteria. The results indicated the following: moderate to strong effects were in favor of intramuscular injections of botulinum toxin A and occupational […]
Developmental Neurorehabilitation published a retrospective study on 56 children (mean age of 4.2 years old) with cerebral palsy (GMFCS Levels I-V) who received physical therapy. The children’s motor function was assessed every 3 months from 2008-2011. The results indicated the following: significant improvement in Gross Motor Function Measure – 66 the improvement varied among the […]
Pediatrics has published research on the developmental trajectories of mobility performance and daily activities in 420 Dutch children (ages 1-16 years) and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP)and investigating the influence of gross motor function and intellectual disability on these trajectories. The children were followed yearly over a period of 2 to 4 years. Developmental […]
Physical Therapy has published research on exercise intensity levels in children with cerebral palsy while using active video games. Ten children with spastic cerebral palsy were age matched with their peers and participated for 40 minutes in 4 active video games – jogging, bicycling, snowboarding and skiing. Heart rates were recorded as well as lower […]
Pediatrics published research on the characteristics of pain in children with cerebral palsy. A cross sectional study was completed on 252 youth ages 3-19 years old, their families and their physicians. The results indicated the following: 54.8% reported some pain on the Health Utilities Index 3 24.4% of the caregivers reporting that their child experienced […]
A systemic review was recently published on the effectiveness of hand splints for children with cerebral palsy. Six studies met the inclusion criteria and all were only on children with cerebral palsy. Five studies were on non functional hand splints and one study was on functional hand splints. The results indicated the following: in children […]
Pediatric Physical Therapy published a systemic review and evidence based clinical recommendations for dosing of pediatric supported standing programs. After reviewing the literature the following was recommended: standing programs 5 days per week, 60-90 minutes per day, positively affect bone mineral density standing programs 5 days per week, 60 minutes per day in 30° to […]
Occasionally I will use a pedometer during a therapy session to measure the number of steps versus trying to estimate the number of feet that a child walks. Recent research on 17 children with cerebral palsy who walk without aids was conducted to determine the reliability and validity of pedometers and proper pedometer placement. Video analysis […]