Contributing factors analysis for the changes of the gross motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy after physical therapy.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the factors which contribute to the improvements of the gross motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy after physical therapy.


METHODS
The subjects were 45 children with spastic cerebral palsy with no previous botulinum toxin injection or operation history within 6 months. They consisted of 24 males (53.3%) and 21 females (46.7%), and the age of the subjects ranged from 2 to 6 years, with the mean age being 41±18 months. The gross motor function was evaluated by Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM)-88 at the time of admission and discharge, and then, the subtractions were correlated with associated factors.


RESULTS
The GMFM-88 was increased by 7.17±3.10 through 52±16 days of physical therapy. The more days of admission, the more improvements of GMFM-88 were attained. The children with initial GMFM-88 values in the middle range showed more improvements in GMFM-88 (p<0.05). The children without dysphagia and children with less spasticity of lower extremities also showed more improvements in GMFM-88 (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
We can predict the improvements of the gross motor function after physical therapy according to the days of admission, initial GMFM-88, dysphagia, and spasticity of lower extremities. Further controlled studies including larger group are necessary.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Bundang Jesaeng General Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
Tae Im
TI
Yi
Ju Ryeon
JR
Jin
Sung Heon
SH
Kim
Kyung Hee
KH
Han
Cerebral palsy; Factor analysis; Gross motor function; Physical therapy