THE OUTCOME OF LOWER LIMB STRENGTH TRAINING IN CEREBRAL PALSY CHILDREN WITH SPASTIC DIPLEGIA

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of progressive strength training on gross motor function in cerebral palsy children with spastic diplegia in local clinical setup at Lahore Pakistan. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was performed in Children Hospital Lahore Pakistan on 45 cerebral palsy patients with Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) 1-3. Patients were selected through convenient sampling technique. Three sessions of strength training per week for 12 consecutive weeks was given. The resistance was increased according to level of strength of each child calculated by one repetition maximum. Gross Motor Function Measure 88 was used as outcome measure. Pre and post-intervention mean score was compared by using Wilcoxon-signed rank test. RESULTS: Out of 45 cerebral palsy children, 31 (68.9%) were males and 14 (31.1%) were females. Difference of 4.2 (p<0.01) was observed between pre and post-intervention mean score after the 12 weeks strength-training program. There were 17 (37.8%) patients with age <10 years and 28 (62.2%) patients with ≥10 years of age. Out of 45 participants one (2.2%) had a GMFCS score of 1 and 16 (35.6%) had a GMFCS score of 2. Remaining 28 (62.2%) participants had a GMFCS score of 3. P value <0.05 showed that there was significant increase in post training score. CONCLUSION: Progressive strength training on gross motor function in cerebral palsy children with diplegia is helpful in improving the strength and physical ability of children in our local clinical setup. Improvement was observed more in children aging less than ten years.

Keywords

• Cerebral Palsy
• Muscle Spasticity
• Resistance Training
• Spastic Diplegia
• Children
• Lower Limb