Muscle growth is reduced in 15-month-old children with cerebral palsy.
Lack of muscle growth relative to bone growth may be responsible for development of contractures in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Here, we used ultrasonography to compare growth of the medial gastrocnemius muscle in children with and without CP.



Twenty-six children with spastic CP (15 males, 11 females; mean age 35mo, range 8-65mo) and 101 typically developing children (47 males, 54 females; mean age 29mo, range 1-69mo) were included. Functional abilities of children with CP equalled levels I to III in the Gross Motor Function Classification System. Medial gastrocnemius muscle volume was constructed from serial, transverse, two-dimensional ultrasonography images.



In typically developing children, medial gastrocnemius volume increased linearly with age. Among children with CP, medial gastrocnemius volume increased less with age and deviated significantly from typically developing children at 15 months of age (p<0.05). Bone length increased with age without significant difference (p=0.49).



Muscle growth in children with CP initially follows that of typically developing children, but decreases at 15 months of age. This may be related to reduced physical activity and neural activation of the muscle. Interventions stimulating muscle growth in young children with CP may be important to prevent contractures.
Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Anna
A
Herskind
Helene Elsass Center, Charlottenlund, Denmark.
Anina
A
Ritterband-Rosenbaum
Helene Elsass Center, Charlottenlund, Denmark.
Maria
M
Willerslev-Olsen
Helene Elsass Center, Charlottenlund, Denmark.
Jakob
J
Lorentzen
Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lars
L
Hanson
School of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Glen
G
Lichtwark
Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jens B
JB
Nielsen
D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003286:Contracture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009128:Muscle Spasticity; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development*