Article

OBJECTIVE: To assess motor proficiency and movement disorders in children with
mild traumatic brain injury compared with an uninjured control group. Inclusion
criteria were based on the definitions issued by the American Congress of
Rehabilitation Medicine. SUBJECTS: A group of 27 children with mild traumatic
brain injury (age range 4-17 years) and a control group of 79 healthy children.
METHODS: Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) was administered.
This is a standardized comprehensive test of gross- and fine-motor function that
produces standard scores for children in this age group. It is divided into 4
gross-motor tasks, 3 fine-motor tasks, 1 combined task, and a test of hand and
foot dominance. Tremor was also evaluated. RESULTS: The mean standard scores for
both groups were within the normal range. For balance, the mild traumatic brain
injury group had a significantly poorer performance than controls (p = 0.03).
Tremor was significantly more frequent in the mild traumatic brain injury group
(p = 0.004), and mixed-handedness was significantly over-represented in the mild
traumatic brain injury group (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: In this study, children with
mild traumatic brain injury did not differ from the norm in terms of fine- or
gross-motor proficiency compared with a control group of uninjured children, but
a difference in balance skill (p = 0.03), mixed-handedness (p = 0.02) and tremor
(p = 0.004) was detected, to the injured children's detriment.

Langue : ANGLAIS