Postural Stability in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Background: A lack of postural control is one of the key problems in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The goals of the present study were to assess static postural stability in children with mild CP using a force platform compared to that of typically developing peers and to identify differences in static stability between children with hemiplegic and diplegic CP. Methods: This study included 45 children with hemiplegic CP and 45 children with well-functioning diplegic CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System; GMFCS scores between I and II) who were patients of local paediatric rehabilitation centres. The testing procedure included two interrelated parts: (1) the analysis of the body weight distribution and (2) the posturometric test (the centre of pressure; CoP measurements) using the force platform. Results: The results of the present study show that children with CP, compared to their TD peers, demonstrated significantly higher values for all of the analysed indexes of postural stability. The obtained results indicate differences in disorders of static postural stability between children with hemiplegic and diplegic CP. Compared to their TD peers, children with hemiplegic CP showed greater body weight asymmetry between the affected and unaffected sides of the body and greater CoP sway in the medial-lateral direction. In contrast, children with diplegic CP exhibited greater CoP displacements in the anterior-posterior direction. Conclusions: The findings of the present study show that (1) children with CP have increased static postural instability compared to their TD peers and (2) children with diplegic CP exhibit weaker mediolateral stability in standing, whereas children with hemiplegic CP show reduced anterior-posterior stability.