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A method to assess the development of muscle power in preterms after term age
L de Groot1, B Hopkins, B C Touwen
1Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
A new instrument assesses active and passive muscle power in preterm infants. Persistent discrepancies may indicate risks for motor development disturbances, aiding early detection and intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Preterm infants are at higher risk for motor development issues.
- Early identification of motor deficits is crucial for timely intervention.
- Existing assessments may not adequately capture nuanced muscle power development in preterms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a novel instrument for evaluating active and passive muscle power in preterm infants.
- To establish the utility of the instrument in identifying preterms at risk for motor development disturbances.
- To provide a basis for postterm follow-up assessments in preterm populations.
Main Methods:
- Development of an instrument with age-specific items targeting active and passive muscle power.
- Application of the instrument to case studies of five preterm infants without major medical complications.
- Analysis of individual developmental trajectories and muscle power discrepancies.
Main Results:
- The instrument differentiates between active and passive muscle power.
- A persistent discrepancy between active and passive muscle power was observed in case studies.
- The instrument's application illustrated potential risk indicators for motor development issues.
Conclusions:
- A persistent discrepancy between active and passive muscle power beyond corrected age of 3 months may signal underlying pathology.
- This discrepancy can predict abnormal postural outcomes and disturbances in motor control and coordination.
- Further validation of the instrument's sensitivity and specificity is underway in a larger cohort.
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to report a detailed description of an instrument for evaluating the development of active and passive muscle power in preterms beyond term age. The instrument is constructed on a basis of age-specific items that assess these two components of muscle power and on the assumption that a persistent discrepancy between them serves to detect those preterms at most risk for disturbances in motor development. The application of the instrument is illustrated by reporting the individual trajectories of five case studies without any serious medical complications. It is concluded that if a marked discrepancy between active and passive power persists beyond the corrected age of 3 months, then this may be a sign of underlying pathology which will eventuate in abnormal postural outcomes and thereby disturbances in the control and coordination of movement. Having now provided a detailed description of how this instrument should be applied in postterm follow-up of preterm infants, we are currently examining its sensitivity and specificity on a much larger sample of similar subjects.