Biomaterial Database

Effect of short leg casting on ambulation in children with cerebral palsy. 1986

D B Bertoti

The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze changes in ambulation between two groups of children with cerebral palsy, with and without short leg casting. Sixteen children with spastic cerebral palsy, aged 10 to 108 months, were assigned randomly to either a short leg casted group or an uncasted group. All children were tested by me, before and after 10 weeks of neurodevelopmental treatment, by recording an ink print ambulation pattern on a length of paper fastened to the floor. Measurements of stride length, stride width, foot angle, and footprint clarity were taken to quantify the ambulation patterns. The percentage of improvement in stride length, stride width, and foot angle was analyzed using a t test, and the percentage of improvement in footprint clarity was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. An alpha level of .05 was assumed to determine whether the differences between groups were large enough to be statistically significant. A significant difference was found in the percentages of improvement in stride length between the two groups, although the other results were nonsignificant. Short leg casting appears to be valuable in the management of spastic hemiplegia, diplegia, and quadriplegia. Clinical observations included improvement in muscle tone, trunk control, and symmetry. These results constitute the first objective measure, using a control group, supporting the therapeutic value of short leg casting for children with cerebral palsy.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D009128	Muscle Spasticity	A form of muscle hypertonia associated with upper MOTOR NEURON DISEASE. Resistance to passive stretch of a spastic muscle results in minimal initial resistance (a "free interval") followed by an incremental increase in muscle tone. Tone increases in proportion to the velocity of stretch. Spasticity is usually accompanied by HYPERREFLEXIA and variable degrees of MUSCLE WEAKNESS. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p54)	Clasp-Knife Spasticity,Spastic,Clasp Knife Spasticity,Spasticity, Clasp-Knife,Spasticity, Muscle
D011897	Random Allocation	A process involving chance used in therapeutic trials or other research endeavor for allocating experimental subjects, human or animal, between treatment and control groups, or among treatment groups. It may also apply to experiments on inanimate objects.	Randomization,Allocation, Random
D002370	Casts, Surgical	Dressings made of fiberglass, plastic, or bandage impregnated with plaster of paris used for immobilization of various parts of the body in cases of fractures, dislocations, and infected wounds. In comparison with plaster casts, casts made of fiberglass or plastic are lightweight, radiolucent, able to withstand moisture, and less rigid.	Fiberglass Casts,Plaster Casts,Plastic Casts,Cast, Surgical,Surgical Cast,Surgical Casts,Cast, Fiberglass,Cast, Plaster,Cast, Plastic,Casts, Fiberglass,Casts, Plaster,Casts, Plastic,Fiberglass Cast,Plaster Cast,Plastic Cast
D002547	Cerebral Palsy	A heterogeneous group of nonprogressive motor disorders caused by chronic brain injuries that originate in the prenatal period, perinatal period, or first few years of life. The four major subtypes are spastic, athetoid, ataxic, and mixed cerebral palsy, with spastic forms being the most common. The motor disorder may range from difficulties with fine motor control to severe spasticity (see MUSCLE SPASTICITY) in all limbs. Spastic diplegia (Little disease) is the most common subtype, and is characterized by spasticity that is more prominent in the legs than in the arms. Pathologically, this condition may be associated with LEUKOMALACIA, PERIVENTRICULAR. (From Dev Med Child Neurol 1998 Aug;40(8):520-7)	Diplegic Infantile Cerebral Palsy,Little Disease,Monoplegic Cerebral Palsy,Quadriplegic Infantile Cerebral Palsy,Spastic Diplegia,CP (Cerebral Palsy),Cerebral Palsy, Athetoid,Cerebral Palsy, Atonic,Cerebral Palsy, Congenital,Cerebral Palsy, Diplegic, Infantile,Cerebral Palsy, Dyskinetic,Cerebral Palsy, Dystonic-Rigid,Cerebral Palsy, Hypotonic,Cerebral Palsy, Mixed,Cerebral Palsy, Monoplegic, Infantile,Cerebral Palsy, Quadriplegic, Infantile,Cerebral Palsy, Rolandic Type,Cerebral Palsy, Spastic,Congenital Cerebral Palsy,Diplegia, Spastic,Infantile Cerebral Palsy, Diplegic,Infantile Cerebral Palsy, Monoplegic,Infantile Cerebral Palsy, Quadriplegic,Little's Disease,Monoplegic Infantile Cerebral Palsy,Rolandic Type Cerebral Palsy,Athetoid Cerebral Palsy,Atonic Cerebral Palsy,Cerebral Palsies, Athetoid,Cerebral Palsies, Dyskinetic,Cerebral Palsies, Dystonic-Rigid,Cerebral Palsies, Monoplegic,Cerebral Palsy, Dystonic Rigid,Cerebral Palsy, Monoplegic,Diplegias, Spastic,Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy,Dystonic-Rigid Cerebral Palsies,Dystonic-Rigid Cerebral Palsy,Hypotonic Cerebral Palsies,Hypotonic Cerebral Palsy,Mixed Cerebral Palsies,Mixed Cerebral Palsy,Monoplegic Cerebral Palsies,Spastic Cerebral Palsies,Spastic Cerebral Palsy,Spastic Diplegias
D002657	Child Development	The continuous sequential physiological and psychological maturing of an individual from birth up to but not including ADOLESCENCE.	Infant Development,Development, Child,Development, Infant
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D002986	Clinical Trials as Topic	Works about pre-planned studies of the safety, efficacy, or optimum dosage schedule (if appropriate) of one or more diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques selected according to predetermined criteria of eligibility and observed for predefined evidence of favorable and unfavorable effects. This concept includes clinical trials conducted both in the U.S. and in other countries.	Clinical Trial as Topic
D005684	Gait	Manner or style of walking.	Gaits
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man