Article

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of constraint
therapy, constraint therapy plus electrical stimulation, and occupational therapy
in the treatment of hand dysfunction. METHODS:
Sixty-eight children with
hemiplegic cerebral palsy were randomly allocated to constraint therapy,
constraint therapy plus electrical stimulation, and occupational therapy group.
Three groups received 2 weeks of treatment. All participants were measured at
baseline and 2 weeks, 3 and 6 months after treatment using measures of active
ROM, grip strength, nine-peg hole test, upper extremity functional test, Peabody
developmental motor scales (PDMS), globe rating scale, and social life ability
scale. RESULTS: Three groups improved significantly (p < 0.05). The mean
improvements between baseline and the end of follow-up were respectively 12.4,
11.4 and 11.3 degrees for active ROM; 12.8, 10.5 and 8.8 mmHg for grip strength;
-22.3, -30.7 and -14.0 s for nine-peg hole test; 15.3, 10.3 and 10.4 for upper
extremity functional test scores; 2.2, 1.8 and 1.8 for grasping scores of PDMS;
5.8, 3.7 and 2.8 for visual-motor integration scores of PDMS; 2.0, 2.5 and 0.9
for globe rating scale scores; 7.7, 5.7 and 5.3 for social life ability scale
scores in constraint therapy plus electrical stimulation, constraint therapy, and
occupational therapy group. The constraint therapy plus electrical stimulation
group showed greater rate of improvement in upper extremity functional test
scores (p < 0.05) and visual-motor integration scores of PDMS (p < 0.05) than the
other two groups after treatment for 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Constraint therapy
plus electrical stimulation is likely to be best in improving hand performance in
children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Langue : ANGLAIS