effects of functional therapy on motor development in children with cerebral palsy

ABSTRACT

Cerebral palsy [CP] is one of the most common causes of activity limitation in children. Although the central nervous system [CNS] lesion, causing the disorder of posture and movement, is not progressive, the manifestations of the lesion however may change over time. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a functional therapy program on motor abilities of children with cerebral palsy. In the year 2007, in a pre- and post design study, fifteen children, diagnosed with CP at the physiotherapy clinic of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences were recruited using simple non - probability sampling by consulting the child neurologist. Before and after intervention, subjects were classified with Gross Motor Function Classification System [GMFCS] to assess gross motor function with the Gross Motor Function Measure [GMFM]. Muscle tonicity was graded, based on the Modified Ashworth Scale [MAS]. A 24 session functional physical therapy program which lasted 12 weeks, twice per week, and 90min per session was carried out. Fifteen children with CP [12 boys and 3 girls] aged 21.87 +/- 13.37 months were enrolled in this study; six of them were diplegic, 7 hemiplegic, and 2 quadriplegic. After treatment, muscle tonicity decreased from 1.93 +/- 0.59 to 0.87 +/- 0.64 [P<0.0001]. The subjects' GMFM scores increased significantly from 30.52 +/- 28.99 to 49.27 +/- 26.9 [P<0.0001]. The results showed that a functional therapy program may be effective in increasing gross motor function and improving daily activities in children with cerebral palsy, thereby decreasing parent and nursing dependency following this program