Affiliations: [a] Rehabilitation Therapies, University of North Carolina Health Care, Chapel Hill, NC, USA | [b] NDT Pediatric Therapy, Adjunct Faculty UNC-CH in the Division of Physical Therapy, Rockingham, NC, USA | [c] Occupational Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Kerry Blazek, Rehabilitation Therapies. University of North Carolina Health Care, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA. Tel.: +1 984 974 8872; E-mail: Kerry.blazek@unchealth.unc.edu.
Abstract: PURPOSE: To evaluate postural symmetry in sitting and standing for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (hCP) following the Combined Approach to Treatment for Children with Hemiplegia (CATCH) protocol, an intervention combining Constraint Induced Movement Therapy, Bimanual Intensive Therapy and Neuro-Developmental Treatment. METHODS: The study included 10 children with a diagnosis of hCP and 10 typically developing age-matched peers. Subjects participated in a CATCH camp for six hours daily for eight consecutive days. Postural symmetry measurements in quiet sitting and standing were obtained using a Boditrak pressure-mapping system at four time points: prior to start of camp (T1), first day of camp (T2), last day of camp (T3), and one month post-camp (T4). RESULTS: Significant differences (p< 0.05) were found in quiet sitting when comparing postural symmetry pre-intervention and one-month post camp. In quiet standing, significant differences (p< 0.05) were found when pre-intervention was compared to one-month post-intervention. One month post-intervention, the intervention group showed no significant difference from the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: Children with hCP demonstrate improvement in postural symmetry in sitting and standing following participation in a CATCH camp. Following the intervention, children with hCP continued to improve postural symmetry and approach age-matched peers.
Keywords: Hemiplegic CP, CIMT, BIT, NDT, postural control
