INTERPRETATION In children with CP , h and splints may have a small benefit for upper limb skills .
However , results are diminished after splint wearing stops .
AIM The aim of this review was to determine the effectiveness of h and splinting for improving h and function in children with cerebral palsy ( CP ) and brain injury .
Lycra(®) arm splints improve movement fluency in children with cerebral palsy.
AIMS To determine changes in upper limb movement substructures that denote fluency of movement in children with cerebral palsy ( CP ) following lycra ( ® ) splint wear  . Secondarily , to explore the efficacy of lycra ( ® ) splints for those with spastic and dystonic hypertonia . DESIGN R and omised clinical trial whereby participants were r and omised to parallel groups with waiting list control . METHOD Sixteen children ( mean age 11.5 years SD=2.2 ) with hypertonic upper limb involvement ( 13 hemiplegia , 4 quadriplegia ) were recruited . Children were r and omly allocated either to a control group or to wear the lycra ( ® ) splint for a period of three months . Three-dimensional ( 3D ) upper limb kinematics was used to assess four functional tasks at baseline , on initial lycra ( ® ) splint application , three months after lycra ( ® ) splint wear , and immediately after splint removal . Movement substructures of the motion of the wrist joint center were analysed . RESULTS A significant difference was observed between baseline and three months of lycra ( ® ) splint wear in the movement substructures ; movement time , percentage of time and distance in primary movement , jerk index , normalised jerk and percentage of jerk in primary and secondary movements . The magnitude of changes in normalised jerk and the percentage of jerk in the primary movement from baseline to three months was greatest in children with dystonic hypertonia . CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that lycra ( ® ) arm splinting induced significant changes in movement substructures and motor performance in children with CP . This research demonstrates that fluency of movement can be quantified and is amenable to change with intervention
INTERPRETATION In children with CP , h and splints may have a small benefit for upper limb skills .
However , results are diminished after splint wearing stops .
AIM The aim of this review was to determine the effectiveness of h and splinting for improving h and function in children with cerebral palsy ( CP ) and brain injury .