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The Range of Motion of Long Term Knee Contractures of Four Spastic Cerebral Palsied Children:

1984; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 4; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/j006v04n01_04

1541-3144

James J. McPherson, Trese Gallagher Arends, Mary Jane Michaels, Karen Trettin,

Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery

A pilot study was conducted assessing the effectiveness of a physical exercise approach in the reduction of long term knee contractures. Four spastic, quadriplegic, severely mentally retarded children participated in this study. Passive range of motion measurements and spring weighted scale assessments of hypertonus were used to assess treatment effectiveness. A time series experimental design was used to determine if P-ROM exercise or positioning reduced knee contractures over a two-year period. Results indicated: 1) P-ROM exercise and positioning reduced knee contractures significantly during three of four treatment periods; 2) Knee contractures significantly increased when direct treatment was discontinued in three of four time periods and 3) Hypertonus was significantly decreased during the second year of the study. Inferences that may be drawn are limited because of the nonparametric treatment of data and the small size and diagnostic homogeneity of the sample.