Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine movement time and kinematic properties of unilateral and
bilateral reaching movements in adults with cerebral palsy (CP), focusing on how
different types of bilateral movements, simultaneous or sequential, may influence
interlimb coordination. DESIGN: Quantitative study using between-group
repeated-measures analyses. SETTING: Motor control laboratory at a research
university. PARTICIPANTS: Adults with hemiplegic CP (n=11; mean age +/- SD,
33+/-10y; 4 men) and age-matched controls (mean age +/- SD, 32+/-9y; 4 men).
INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Movement time (MT), maximum
deviation from a straight trajectory to the target, and peak speed. RESULTS:
Although adults with hemiplegic CP showed strong unilateral deficits, bilateral
simultaneous reaching movements were temporally and spatially coupled. Movement
of the less affected arm slowed to match the movement of the more affected arm.
In contrast, bilateral sequential movements improved MTs of the less affected and
more affected arms. CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral sequential movements were conducive to
faster MT compared with unilateral or bilateral simultaneous movements. Training
that includes bilateral sequential movements may be beneficial to adults with
hemiplegic CP. Upper-limb movements are coordinated in a variety of ways to
perform routine bilateral tasks. Some bilateral tasks, such as stacking boxes,
require more symmetric movements of the upper limbs. Other bilateral tasks, such
as opening the refrigerator with 1 hand while placing an item on the shelf with
the other hand, emphasize coordinated sequential action between upper limbs.
Despite the prevalence of integrative upper-limb use, the control of different
forms of bilateral movement is not well understood. A more comprehensive
knowledge of upper-limb bilateral movements may hold important implications for
developing more effective upper-limb movement therapies.
CI - Copyright (c) 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS