Assessment of the effectiveness of exercises in adult patients with cerebral palsy
Project no. 149 · Status: Kapanmış · 2018
Summary
Introduction: Cerebral palsy is a nonprogressive disease of the central nervous system that is caused by damage to the developing brain and is characterised by spasticity, cognitive dysfunction, problems in sight and other sensory funcitons. As the child grows, clinical findings may change, although treatment of spasticity and walking difficulties stay the main focus of rehabilitation. Whole body vibration (WBV) therapy is a treatment method that has been proposed to be effective in the treatment of different diseases of the nervous system but data regarding its effectiveness in adult patients with cerebral palsy is lacking. Our aim in this study was to assess the effectiveness of WBV therapy on spasticity and funcitonal capacity in adult patients with cerebral palsy. Method: 14 adult patients with cerebral palsy that were followed-up in our rehabilitation outpatient clinic, who were mobile and who had ankle plantar flexor spasticity were enrolled in this study. Subjects were randomized into two groups, the first group receiving a single session of conventional range of motion and stretching exercises and the second group receiving, in addition to exercise, a single session of WBV therapy with a frequency of 15 Hz, applied as 3 sets of 3 minutes. All subjects were asssessed for spasticity, muscle strength and functional capacity before and after the treatment session. Results: No positive effects were detected in the WBV therapy group regarding spasticity or functional capacity (p>0.05). But this study is the first of its kind in assessing the effectiveness of WBV therapy in adult patients with cerebral palsy. There is need for further studies with larger sample sizes that assess different treatment protocols.