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Practice of a precision isometric grip-force task by children with spastic cerebral palsy
1Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Professions, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192, USA.
Insights
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) show reduced accuracy and increased variability in grip force control. However, both children with CP and controls improved with practice and sustained gains, indicating potential for motor skill development.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
- Motor Control
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) often impacts motor function, including grip strength and control.
- Assessing fine motor skills like isometric grip force is crucial for understanding functional limitations in children with CP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the precision of isometric grip force production in children aged 7-12 years with CP compared to typically developing controls.
- To evaluate the effects of practice and feedback on grip force control in this population.
Main Methods:
- Participants (children with CP and controls) performed isometric grip force tasks over 3 days with on-line visual feedback.
- Accuracy and variability of grip force were measured across 48 trials per day.
- Performance was assessed over a 5-day retention interval.
Main Results:
- Children with CP exhibited significantly lower accuracy and higher variability in isometric grip force compared to controls.
- Both groups improved with practice, though control subjects showed greater improvement.
- Performance gains were maintained over the 5-day retention period for both groups.
- Substantial performance variability was observed among children with CP.
Conclusions:
- Children with CP have deficits in precise isometric grip force control, characterized by reduced accuracy and increased variability.
- Despite these challenges, children with CP can improve grip force control with practice and feedback, with sustained retention of gains.
- The findings suggest potential for targeted interventions to enhance motor skills in children with CP.
Abstract:
The ability to produce and sustain a criterion level of precision isometric grip force was studied in a group of 7- to 12-year-old children with cerebral palsy (CP) and in a control group. On-line visual feedback of the forces produced relative to a stationary target was provided for each 5-second trial. Subjects practised 48 trials on each of 3 consecutive days. Measures of accuracy and variability revealed significantly reduced accuracy and increased variability in isometric force production for the group with CP. Both groups demonstrated improvement with practice, with the significantly greater change in the control subjects. There was substantial variability in performance among subjects with CP. Gains associated with practice were sustained over a 5-day retention interval for both groups. The requirement to control proximal segments of the upper extremity was not associated with increased error in grip-force production of the group with CP.