Effects of a Postoperative Resistive Exercise Program on the Knee Extension and Flexion Torque in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Presented in part to the European College of Sport Science, 2004, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Abstract
Patikas D, Wolf SI, Armbrust P, Mund K, Schuster W, Dreher T, Döderlein L. Effects of a postoperative resistive exercise program on the knee extension and flexion torque in children with cerebral palsy: a randomized clinical trial.
Objective
To investigate the effects of resistive exercise on the knee extension and flexion torque production during the rehabilitation period after multilevel orthopedic surgery.
Design
Randomized clinical trial.
Setting
Hospital rehabilitation department.
Participants
Thirty-nine children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (CP) (age range, 6–16y), randomly allocated to an exercise group (n=19) and a control group (n=20). All received conventional physiotherapy (PT), and the exercise group also followed a resistive exercise program.
Intervention
A 9-month standardized home-based resistive exercise program, which started about 3 months after the surgery.
Main Outcome Measures
The Gross Motor Functional Measurement (GMFM) assessed before (E0) and 1 year (E1) after the surgery. The Modified Ashworth Scale and the isometric and isokinetic torque of the knee extensors and flexors were evaluated at E0, E1, and 6 months after the surgery.
Results
The knee extension and flexion moments had decreased 6 months after the surgery and recovered to the preoperative level 1 year after surgery. These changes were not group dependent.
Conclusions
Additional long-term, home-based, low-cost resistive exercise that starts soon after the operation of patients with CP was not more beneficial than conventional PT only, in terms of strength and GMFM.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Reprint requests to Dimitrios Patikas, PhD, Dept of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Schlierbacher Landstr. 200a, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany
Supported by the Department for Science Research and Arts of the State of Baden-Württemberg and Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.
ABSTRACT