Cerebral Palsy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cerebral Palsy, including details on symptoms, causes, types.

Effect of seat surface inclination on postural control during reaching in preterm children with cerebral palsy.

Hadders-Algra M, van der Heide JC, Fock JM, Stremmelaar E, van Eykern LA, Otten B

Department of Developmental Neurology, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, the Netherlands. m.hadders-algra@med.umcg.nl

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Because it is debatable whether seat surface inclination improves motor function in children with cerebral palsy (CP), the effect of seat surface tilting on postural control and quality of reaching was studied. SUBJECTS: The subjects were 58 children with CP aged 2 to 11 years (34 with unilateral spastic CP, 24 with bilateral spastic CP). METHODS: During the task of reaching movements, surface electromyographic and kinematic data were recorded for posture and reaching with the dominant arm in 3 sitting conditions: horizontal seat surface, seat surface tilted forward 15 degrees, and seat surface tilted backward 15 degrees. RESULTS: In the children with unilateral spastic CP, forward tilting improved postural efficiency and quality of reaching. In the children with bilateral spastic CP, both forward and backward tilting of the seat surface was associated with more postural instability and did not affect the quality of reaching. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The results suggest that, in terms of postural control and quality of reaching, children with unilateral spastic CP benefit from a forward-tilted position and children with bilateral spastic CP benefit from a horizontal sitting position.

Published 2 July 2007 in Phys Ther, 87(7): 861-71.
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