Aerobic Exercises and Gross Motor Function in Spastic Cerebral Palsy
Condition: Spastic Cerebral Palsy
MeSH terms: Muscle Spasticity; Paralysis; Cerebral Palsy
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The aim of this research is to find the effects of aerobic exercise on gross motor function
      in cerebral palsy patients. Quasai experimental study done at Noor Zainab Rehabilitation
      center, Lahore. The sample size was 34. The subjects were divided in two groups, 17 subjects
      with aerobic exercise 17 children with conventional treatment. Sampling technique applied was
      purposive non probability sampling. Only 7-12 years individuals with GMFCS level I- III were
      included. Tools used in the study were Gross motor function measure (GMFM-66 and 88) .Data
      was be analyzed through SPSS 21.
    

Detailed description: 
      Cerebral palsy" an umbrella term for a group of irreversible and non-progressive
      abnormalities of the fetal or neonatal brain, this can lead to disorders of movement and
      posture. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) states that, it is the most
      common cause of physical disability in children and young people in the developing world. CP
      is condition with multiple causes; multiple clinical types; multiple associated developmental
      pathologies, such as intellectual disability, autism, epilepsy, and visual impairment; and
      more recently multiple rare pathogenic genetic variations Motor disability in cerebral palsy
      is related with sitting, standing, walking and running appears as the main symptom in
      children with CP, the assessment and management of CP have focused on gross motor function.
      The Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) is designed by Russell et al. in 1993 is used to
      measure the level of motor development and changes of gross motor function in a standardized
      environment in children with CP. GMFM-66 is comprised of a subset of the 88 items identified
      as contributing to the measure of gross motor function in children with CP, ranging from 0
      (lowest motor function) to 100 (highest motor function). Cardiorespiratory endurance is an
      integral component of physical fitness and has been identified as the most important fitness
      component associated with health and mortality. In clinical practice, rebound is usually
      offered as a 20 minute session, once per week for 6 weeks. Typical rebound therapy programs
      target gross motor skill development, such as balance while sitting, kneeling, standing and
      walking; functional transfers such as rolling and sit to stand; aerobic activity such as
      jumping. It is theorized that using a trampoline improves muscle tone, posture, balance,
      kinesthetic awareness, movement, body awareness, and communication. Aerobic exercise may
      improve activity as indicated by motor function but does not appear to improve gait speed,
      walking endurance, participation or aerobic fitness among children with CP in the short or
      intermediate term. Researcher to conduct a study on effects of robot assisted gait training
      in CP children, collect data from 14 consecutive children affected by CP, each session of 60
      minutes, 20 daily sessions for 5 days per week. Saeid Fatorehchy et al. in 2019 conducted an
      RCT, this study was to evaluate the effects of aquatic therapy in cerebral palsy patients.
      Six children with average age of 7 years 4 months are included. Each sessions lasted for 50
      minutes, comprising 10 minutes of warm up and stretching and 40 minutes of walking in pool at
      different at different water depths.

      Maria A. Fragala-Pinkham et al. stated that participation in routine physical activity is
      important for health promotion and prevention of chronic health condition. Participating in
      sports and active recreation can be beneficial on several levels for children and adults with
      CP. At the body function and structure level of the ICF, improvement in fitness and endurance
      have been documented for children and young with CP. Sports equipment that can be use are
      cycling, swimming, sketching and outdoor active recreation.
    

Intervention name(s): Experimental( Group A ): Aerobic exercises; Conventional( Group B): Conventional Physical therapy
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Subjects in A group was treated with different types of aerobic exercises such as 10 minute walking, 10 minute trampoline exercise and 10 minutes ball throwing activities; The group B was treated with conventional therapy. Conventional treatment protocol passive ROM and stretching passive ROM for 15 minutes and stretching for 15 minutes.Treatment duration for both groups will be 30 minutes. Each subject received total30sessions of the treatment, with 5 treatment sessions per week for 6 weeks
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Cerebral palsy; Gross motor function measure; Aerobic exercises