The effect of wearing night splints for one year on the standing motor function of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

[Purpose] To investigate the effect of night splints on the standing motor function and ankle dorsiflexion angles of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). [Subjects and Methods] Nine boys (age <11 years) with DMD were divided into the sufficiently-wearing group and the insufficiently-wearing group, according to how often they wore their splint for one year. We evaluated the changes between the pre-implementation and the one-year-after assessments of both the sufficiently-wearing group and the insufficiently-wearing group for the ankle dorsiflexion angle, North Star Ambulatory Assessment, 10-m running time, and time to stand from the floor. [Results] Only the left dorsiflexion angle of the ankle showed significantly difference for the sufficiently-wearing group. For other indicators, there were tendency toward improvement and maintenance in the sufficiently-wearing group. [Conclusion] The standing motor function improved significantly in some patients in the sufficiently-wearing group, suggesting that wearing night splints may promote the improvement and/or maintain of standing motor function in patients with DMD.

Relationship between muscle-tendon length, range of motion, and resistance to passive movement in children with normal and increased tone.

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to quantify the resistance to passive movement by measuring changes in muscle-tendon length and joint range of motion (ROM), before and after applying a standardized 5-kilogram tension force, and to correlate and compare these changes to muscle tone. [Subjects and Methods] Children with cerebral palsy (n=29) and typically developed children (n=12) participated in this observational study. The modified Ashworth scale (MAS) was used to assess tone in the right plantarflexor muscle. An ultrasound-imaging device was used to measure Δmuscle-tendon length in the right medial gastrocnemius muscle, and a goniometer was used to measure right ankle ΔROM. [Results] Compared with the MAS, the results showed that ΔROM had the highest construct validity (convergent and discriminant) followed by Δmuscle-tendon unit length. Therefore, these parameters may be better alternatives to the MAS for the quantitative assessment of resistance to passive movement in patients with increased tone. [Conclusion] This study demonstrated that measuring the change in the passive properties of the muscle-tendon unit, as well as the corresponding change in ROM, might provide better options for assessing resistance to passive movement or muscle tone.