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Evaluation of physical growth in cerebral palsied children and its possible relationship with gross motor development
Alaa I Ibrahim1, Ziad M Hawamdeh
1Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. alaa_ibrahim40@yahoo.com
Insights
In children with spastic cerebral palsy, quadriplegic forms showed significantly decreased physical growth and motor function. Current body weight, along with clinical data, predicts gross motor abilities.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neurology
- Human Growth and Development
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders affecting movement and posture.
- Understanding the relationship between physical growth and motor function in CP is crucial for management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between gross motor function and physical growth parameters in children with spastic cerebral palsy.
- To identify predictors of motor abilities in this population.
Main Methods:
- Seventy-one children with spastic cerebral palsy (diplegic, quadriplegic, hemiplegic) and 80 controls were assessed.
- Measurements included stature, weight, head circumference, mid-upper arm circumference, and the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM).
- Clinical data such as disease duration, birth weight, orofacial dysfunction, paralysis distribution, and spasticity were also recorded.
Main Results:
- Quadriplegic children exhibited significantly reduced stature, weight, head circumference, and mid-upper arm circumference compared to controls and other CP types.
- Diplegic girls showed decreased weight, and hemiplegic girls had reduced head circumference.
- Quadriplegic children scored significantly lower on all GMFM measures than diplegic and hemiplegic children.
Conclusions:
- Spastic cerebral palsy, particularly the quadriplegic form, is associated with marked deficits in physical growth parameters.
- Current body weight, disease duration, paralysis distribution, orofacial dysfunction, and spasticity index are independent predictors of gross motor function in children with CP.
Abstract:
The object of this study was to detect any possible relation between the current gross motor function score for cerebral palsy children and their physical growth parameters. We measured 71 children with spastic cerebral palsy (35 diplegic, 25 quadriplegic and 11 hemiplegic) and a control group of 80 normal children. Measures taken for cerebral palsy and normal children included stature, weight, head circumference and mid upper-arm circumference, and, additionally for the cerebral palsied children, duration of the disease, birth weight, presence or absence of orofacial dysfunction, distribution of paralysis and degree of spasticity. Motor abilities were measured using the Gross Motor Function Measure. Results showed a significant decrease in the stature, current weight, head circumference and mid upper-arm circumference of both sexes of the quadriplegic children, and significant decreases in the current weight of the diplegic girls and the head circumference of the hemiplegic girls. There were also significant decreases in all scores of the quadriplegic children compared to the diplegic and hemiplegic children. Diplegic children had significantly decreased standing, walking and running, and total scores, compared to the hemiplegic children. Total score at age of testing was independently predicted by the duration of the disease, distribution of paralysis, presence or absence of orofacial dysfunction, spasticity index and the current body weight. Our findings indicate that in spastic cerebral palsy the physical growth parameters were markedly decreased in the quadriplegic form compared to other forms. Only current body weight, from the growth parameters, in addition to other relevant clinical data, can be considered predictors of the current gross motor abilities of those children.
