Coordination and balance in children with birth-related brachial plexus injury: a preliminary study.
OBJECTIVE
Most children with severe birth-related brachial plexus injury (BRBPI) have some functional impairment, but information on the impact of BRBPI on coordination and balance is limited. The study's purpose was to determine whether children with BRBPI exhibit deficits in body coordination and balance.


METHODS
A prospective cohort study involving 39 children with BRBPI aged 5-15 years was conducted. Range of motion, strength, active movement, and balance and coordination motor skills were assessed using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2), and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2). A self-report measure of physical disability, the Activities Scale for Kids-Performance Version (ASKp), was also administered.


RESULTS
Participants scored a mean of 44.72 on the BOT-2 Body Coordination composite subtest; scores can range from 20 to 80. Eleven participants (28.2%) scored below average on this test. Participants scored a mean of 7.3 on the Balance subtest of the MABC-2; scores can range from 1 to 19. Twenty-six participants (66.7%) scored below average on this test. Of 38 participants, 25 (65.8%) had an ASKp score indicating some level of disability (<95/100); we found a statistically significant difference in balance (p=0.007) between these 25 participants and those without disability (ASKp score 95-100).


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of our study population scored in the categories of at risk or significant difficulty for balance on the MABC-2. Balance rehabilitation may be a valuable treatment adjunct for children with BRBPI.
Physiotherapy Department, British Columbia Children's Hospital.
Doria
D
Bellows
Division of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Department of Plastic Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Marija
M
Bucevska
Division of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Department of Plastic Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Cynthia
C
Verchere
ataxia; birth injuries; brachial plexus; paralysis, obstetric; postural balance