Lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy

Aims: To determine changes in upper limb movement substructures that denote fluency of movement in children with cerebral palsy (CP) following lycra® splint wear. Secondarily, to explore the efficacy of lycra® splints for those with spastic and dystonic hypertonia. Design: Randomised clinical trial...

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Main Authors: Elliott, Catherine, Reid, S., Hamer, P., Alderson, J., Elliott, B.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier BV 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9421
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author Elliott, Catherine
Reid, S.
Hamer, P.
Alderson, J.
Elliott, B.
author_facet Elliott, Catherine
Reid, S.
Hamer, P.
Alderson, J.
Elliott, B.
author_sort Elliott, Catherine
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Aims: To determine changes in upper limb movement substructures that denote fluency of movement in children with cerebral palsy (CP) following lycra® splint wear. Secondarily, to explore the efficacy of lycra® splints for those with spastic and dystonic hypertonia. Design: Randomised clinical trial whereby participants were randomised to parallel groups with waiting list control. Method: Sixteen children (mean age 11.5 years SD = 2.2) with hypertonic upper limb involvement (13 hemiplegia, 4 quadriplegia) were recruited. Children were randomly allocated either to a control group or to wear the lycra® splint for a period of three months. Three-dimensional (3D) upper limb kinematics was used to assess four functional tasks at baseline, on initial lycra® splint application, three months after lycra® splint wear, and immediately after splint removal. Movement substructures of the motion of the wrist joint center were analysed. Results: A significant difference was observed between baseline and three months of lycra® splint wear in the movement substructures; movement time, percentage of time and distance in primary movement, jerk index, normalised jerk and percentage of jerk in primary and secondary movements. The magnitude of changes in normalised jerk and the percentage of jerk in the primary movement from baseline to three months was greatest in children with dystonic hypertonia. Conclusions: The results indicate that lycra® arm splinting induced significant changes in movement substructures and motor performance in children with CP. This research demonstrates that fluency of movement can be quantified and is amenable to change with intervention.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-94212017-09-13T14:52:05Z Lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy Elliott, Catherine Reid, S. Hamer, P. Alderson, J. Elliott, B. Upper limb Jerk Movement substructures Cerebral palsy Lycra® arm splints Spasticity Aims: To determine changes in upper limb movement substructures that denote fluency of movement in children with cerebral palsy (CP) following lycra® splint wear. Secondarily, to explore the efficacy of lycra® splints for those with spastic and dystonic hypertonia. Design: Randomised clinical trial whereby participants were randomised to parallel groups with waiting list control. Method: Sixteen children (mean age 11.5 years SD = 2.2) with hypertonic upper limb involvement (13 hemiplegia, 4 quadriplegia) were recruited. Children were randomly allocated either to a control group or to wear the lycra® splint for a period of three months. Three-dimensional (3D) upper limb kinematics was used to assess four functional tasks at baseline, on initial lycra® splint application, three months after lycra® splint wear, and immediately after splint removal. Movement substructures of the motion of the wrist joint center were analysed. Results: A significant difference was observed between baseline and three months of lycra® splint wear in the movement substructures; movement time, percentage of time and distance in primary movement, jerk index, normalised jerk and percentage of jerk in primary and secondary movements. The magnitude of changes in normalised jerk and the percentage of jerk in the primary movement from baseline to three months was greatest in children with dystonic hypertonia. Conclusions: The results indicate that lycra® arm splinting induced significant changes in movement substructures and motor performance in children with CP. This research demonstrates that fluency of movement can be quantified and is amenable to change with intervention. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9421 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2010.11.008 Elsevier BV restricted
spellingShingle Upper limb
Jerk
Movement substructures
Cerebral palsy
Lycra® arm splints
Spasticity
Elliott, Catherine
Reid, S.
Hamer, P.
Alderson, J.
Elliott, B.
Lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy
title Lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy
title_full Lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy
title_fullStr Lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy
title_full_unstemmed Lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy
title_short Lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy
title_sort lycra® arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy
topic Upper limb
Jerk
Movement substructures
Cerebral palsy
Lycra® arm splints
Spasticity
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9421