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Muscle strengthening in adolescents with cerebral palsy: an evaluation of two singlecase experimental design protocols

Objectives:

to describe changes in the motor function of two adolescents with spastic diplegia, one of them participating in a muscle strengthening in isolation (MSI) protocol, the other in a functional tasks strengthening (FTS) protocol.

Methods:

a single case experimental design is a method that reveals the pattern of changes over time during and after therapy. The design included baseline, intervention and four- six- and three-week follow-up phases. The participants were two adolescents with spastic diplegia, each undergoing an intervention protocol: muscle strengthening in isolation (MSI) or functional tasks strengthening (FTS). The intervention protocols included isolated muscle strengthening of the hip and knee extensors and plantar flexors (for the MSI participant), or functional exercises for the same musculatures (for the FTS participant). Weekly measurements were taken of muscle strength, walking speed, time taken to walk up and down stairs, time taken to get up off the floor and time on the Timed Get Up and Go test. The data were analyzed using Celeration Line, Two Standard Deviation Amplitude and Visual Analysis.

Results:

gains in muscle strength in the lower limbs were observed in both adolescents. Changes in motor activity were observed in two of the four tasks tested in only one of the adolescents (p<0.05).

Conclusions:

The functional specificity of the FTS protocol produced modest effects on performance of motor activities in one of the adolescents with CP, in addition to the gains in muscle strength produced by both protocols.

Rehabilitation; Resistance training; Cerebral palsy; Motor activity


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