Strength and functional mobility in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
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Victoria Gocha Marchese1, Lisa A Chiarello, Beverly J Lange
1Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. vgocha@mindspring.com
Background:
The purposes of this pilot study were as follows: (1) to evaluate tools for measuring neuropathy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), (2) to examine strength and functional mobility in children with ALL, and (3) to determine if there is a relationship between strength and function.
Procedure:
Strength of knee extension and ankle dorsiflexion as measured with a dynamometer and functional mobility with the Timed Up and Go (TUG) were examined in eight children with ALL, ages 4-15 years, before and during delayed intensification (DI) therapy and in age- and gender-matched controls.
Results:
The mean knee extension strength, ankle dorsiflexion strength, and TUG measures for children with ALL before DI were significantly less than the means for the controls. The mean dorsiflexion strength measures for the children with ALL after 4 weeks of DI therapy were significantly lower than at time zero. Correlation of -0.794 (P = 0.05) was found between knee extension strength and TUG score for children with ALL.
Conclusions:
The dynamometer and TUG are reliable tools to measure strength and function in children with ALL early in their treatment. In this study, ankle dorsiflexion strength worsened during DI therapy. There was a correlation between strength and function in children with ALL.
